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AP London Upsets Paris to Win 2012 Olympics By STEPHEN WILSON, AP Sports Writer 1 hour, 30 minutes ago SINGAPORE - Britain vs. Two historic rival citi es convinced they were long overdue. London prevailed upsetting Paris to secure the 2012 Olympics.
International Olympic Committee vote, capping the most glamorous and hotly contested bid race in Olympic history. Moscow, New York and Madrid were eliminated in the first three rounds. London got the Olympics for the first time since 1948, while Paris was fr ustrated for a third time in 20 years.
"Many people do reckon that London is the greatest city in the whole worl d at the moment," an exultant Blair said after hearing the result in Gle neagles, Scotland, where he is hosting the G-8 summit. Blair, who spent two days lobbying in Singapore this week, said he "could n't bear to watch" the vote on TV and only heard the result when he rece ived a call from the switchboard at his Downing Street office in London. London's victory handed Paris a third stinging Olympic defeat in 20 years , following failed bids for the 1992 and 2008 Olympics. "I'll put all my energy into our recovery, so that we know how to make so mething big and positive out of this ordeal," Paris Mayor Bertrand Delan oe said. IOC president Jacques Rogge opened a sealed envelope and declared the res ult in a live televised ceremony: "The International Olympic Committee h as the honor of announcing that the Games of the 30th Olympiad in 2012 a re awarded to the city of London." The tan-suited London delegates in the convention hall leaped out of thei r seats, arms raised in jubilation and cheering wildly. In London, crowds cheered and waved flags as they watched the announcemen t from Singapore on a giant screen in Trafalgar Square, and in the east London area where the main Olympic complex will be based. "I'm absolutely ecstatic, we have the opportunity to do what we always dr eamed about, getting more young people into sport," London bid leader Se bastian Coe said. Even England soccer captain David Beckham got into the act. "In 2012, I can take my children to an Olympics which we might never had had the chance to do," he said. "This is such a huge lift for our countr y" Rogge expressed delight with London's victory. "We are very, very pleased with the victory of London," he said. "People we trust, people we know will give us a superb games." Rogge, a former Olympic sailor, recalled meeting Coe for the first time i n the athletes' village in Moscow in 1980. "We couldn't have dreamed at the time that we would, 25 years later, be s igning the host city contract," Rogge said. Paris had the perceived advantage of bidding for a third time, especially since the IOC tends to reward persistence. The French capital also had a ready-to-go Olympic stadium in the Stade de France and embraced the IO C's blueprint for controlling the size and cost of the games.
The eliminations in the first three rounds came as no surprise. Moscow wa s always considered the longshot, with New York and Madrid outsiders. Mo scow went out with 15 votes in the first round, New York dropped out nex t with 16, then Madrid with 31. Despite being a favorite, Paris never led throughout the voting. The firs t round was tight, with London getting 22 votes, Paris 21, Madrid 20 and New York 19. Madrid took the lead in the second round with 32 votes, fo llowed by London with 27 and Paris 25. London then picked up a big chunk of New York's votes to lead Paris 39-33 in the third round. With Madrid 's votes split fairly evenly in the last round, London had enough to win .
Part of London's pitch was that it stepped in to help the Olympic movemen t by staging the games while Europe was still recovering from World War II. But members said London also won favor because its bid offered a long-ter m legacy, and they cited Coe's charisma and passion and the appeal of hi s team's final presentation to the IOC. "Two different strategies the French and the British," Dutch member Ant on Geesink said. I t is a love affair for Sebastian Coe, that was the difference. Senior Australian IOC member Kevan Gosper said London won because of the way it sold its message in the final hours. London centered its bid on the massive urban renewal of a dilapidated are a of East London. It was the fourth bid from Britain after failed attemp ts by Birmingham for the 1992 Olympics and Manchester for 1996 and 2000. London got off to a slow start but made big strides under Coe, who replac ed American businesswoman Barbara Cassani as head of the bid in May 2004 . Coe has said he will stay on to head the organizing committee for 2012 .
Unidentified members of the public react in Trafalgar Square, central London to the International Olympic Committee's announcement from Singa pore that London has won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games, Wednesd ay July 6, 2005. Candidate cities competing for the Olympic bid were Lon don, Paris, Madrid, New York and Moscow.
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