The2012 Summer Olympics, officially theGames of the XXX Olympiad[a] and also known asLondon 2012, were an internationalmulti-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 inLondon, England, United Kingdom. The first event, thegroup stage inwomen's football, began on 25 July at theMillennium Stadium inCardiff, Wales, followed by the opening ceremony on 27 July.[3][4] There were 10,518 athletes from 206National Olympic Committees (NOCs) who participated in the 2012 Olympics.[5]
TheUnited States topped themedal table, winning the most gold medals (48) and the highest number of medals overall (105).China finished second with a total of 91 medals (38 gold) andGreat Britain came third with 65 medals overall (29 gold).Michael Phelps of the United States became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, winning his 22nd medal.[13]Saudi Arabia,Qatar andBrunei entered female athletes for the first time, meaning that every currently eligible country has now sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games.[14] Women's boxing was included for the first time, and the 2012 Games became the first at which every sport had female competitors.[15][16][17]
The Games received considerable praise for their organisation, with the volunteers, the British military and public enthusiasm commended particularly highly.[18][19][20] The Games were described as "happy and glorious".[21] Theopening ceremony, directed by Academy Award winnerDanny Boyle, received widespread acclaim.[22][23] These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of BelgianJacques Rogge, who was succeeded by GermanThomas Bach the next year.
By 15 July 2003—the deadline for interested cities to submit bids to theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC)—nine cities had submitted bids to host the 2012 Summer Olympics:Havana,Istanbul,Leipzig, London,Madrid,Moscow,New York City,Paris, andRio de Janeiro.[24] On 18 May 2004, as a result of a scored technical evaluation, the IOC reduced the number of cities to five: London, Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris.[25] All five submitted their candidate files by 19 November 2004 and were visited by the IOC inspection team during February and March 2005. The Paris bid suffered two setbacks during the IOC inspection visit: a number of strikes and demonstrations coinciding with the visits, and a report that a key member of the bid team,Guy Drut, would face charges over alleged corrupt party political finances.[26]
Throughout the process, Paris was widely seen as the favourite, particularly as this was its third bid in recent years. London was initially seen as lagging behind Paris by a considerable margin.[27] Its position began to improve after the appointment ofLord Coe as the new chair of theLondon Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) on 19 May 2004.[28] In late August 2004, reports predicted a tie between London and Paris.[29]
On 6 June 2005, the IOC released its evaluation reports for the five candidate cities. They did not contain any scores or rankings, but the report for Paris was considered the most positive. London was close behind, having closed most of the gap observed by the initial evaluation in 2004. New York and Madrid also received very positive evaluations.[30] On 1 July 2005, when asked who would win,Jacques Rogge said, "I cannot predict it since I don't know how the IOC members will vote. But my gut feeling tells me that it will be very close. Perhaps it will come down to a difference of say ten votes, or maybe less."[31]
On 6 July 2005, the final selection was announced at the 117th IOC Session inSingapore. Moscow was the first city to be eliminated, followed by New York and Madrid. The final two contenders were London and Paris. At the end of the fourth round of voting, London won the right to host the 2012 Games with 54 votes to 50.[32]
The celebrations in London were short-lived, being overshadowed bybombings on London's transport system less than 24 hours after the announcement.[33] 12 years later, Paris would later be chosen as the host of the2024 games in 2017.[34]
TheLondon Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) was created to oversee the staging of the Games, and held its first board meeting on 3 October 2005.[35] The committee, chaired byLord Coe, was in charge of implementing and staging the Games, while theOlympic Delivery Authority (ODA), established in April 2006, was in charge of construction of the venues and infrastructure.[35][36]
TheGovernment Olympic Executive (GOE), a unit within theDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), was the lead government body for coordinating the London 2012 Olympics. It focused on oversight of the Games, cross-programme management, and theLondon 2012 Olympic Legacy before and after the Games that would benefit London and the wider United Kingdom. The organisation was also responsible for the supervision of the £9.3 billion of public sector funding.[37]
In August 2011, security concerns arose surrounding the hosting of the Olympic Games in London, following the2011 England riots.[38] Some countries expressed safety concerns,[39] despite the IOC's assurance that the riots would not affect the Games.[40] The IOC's Coordination Commission for the 2012 Games completed its tenth and final visit to London in March 2012. Its members concluded that "London is ready to host the world this summer".[41]
The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games used a mixture of new venues, existing and historic facilities, and temporary facilities, some of them in well-known locations such asHyde Park andHorse Guards Parade. After the Games, some of the new facilities would be reused in their Olympic form, while others were resized or relocated.[42]
The majority of venues were divided into three zones withinGreater London: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone. In addition there were a few venues that, by necessity, were outside the boundaries of Greater London, such as theWeymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy some 125 mi (201 km) southwest of London, which hosted thesailing events. The football tournament was staged at several grounds around the UK.[43] Work began on the Park in December 2006, when a sports hall inEton Manor was pulled down.[44] The athletes' village in Portland was completed in September 2011.[45]
In November 2004, the 200-hectare (500-acre)Olympic Park plans were revealed.[46] The plans for the site were approved in September 2004 by Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney and Waltham Forest.[47] The redevelopment of the area to build the Olympic Park requiredcompulsory purchase orders of property. The London Development Agency was in dispute withLondon and Continental Railways about the orders in November 2005. By May 2006, 86% of the land had been bought as businesses fought eviction.[48] Residents who opposed the eviction tried to find ways to stop it by setting up campaigns, but they had to leave as 94% of land was bought and the other 6% bought as a £9 billion regeneration project started.[49]
There were some issues with the original venues not being challenging enough or being financially unviable. Both the Olympic road races and the mountain bike event were initially considered to be too easy, so they were eventually scheduled on new locations.[50][51] TheOlympic marathon course, which was set to finish in the Olympic stadium, was moved to The Mall, since closingTower Bridge was deemed to cause traffic problems in central London.[52]North Greenwich Arena 2 was scrapped in a cost-cutting exercise,Wembley Arena being used for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events instead.[53][54][55][56]
Test events were held throughout 2011 and 2012, either through an existing championship such as2012 Wimbledon Championships or as a specially created event held under the banner ofLondon Prepares.[57] Team GB House was the British Olympic Association's operational HQ up to and during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Designed by architects Gebler Tooth on the top floor of an office building in Westfield Stratford City, it combined the team HQ, athletes' "Friends and Family" lounge, Press Centre, and VIP lounge.
The plan was to have 80% of athletes travel less than 20 minutes to their event[66] and 93% of them within 30 minutes of their event.[67] The Olympic Park would be served by ten separate railway lines with a combined capacity of 240,000 passengers per hour.[68] In addition, LOCOG planned for 90% of the venues to be served by three or more types of public transport.[67] Two park-and-ride sites off theM25 with a combined capacity of 12,000 cars were 25 minutes away from the Olympic Park. Another park-and-ride site was planned inEbbsfleet with a capacity for 9,000 cars where spectators could board a 10-minute shuttle train service.[67] To get spectators toEton Dorney, four park-and-ride schemes were set up.[69] These Park and Ride services were operated byFirst Games Transport.[70]
TfL defined a network of roads leading between venues as theOlympic Route Network; roads connecting all of the Olympic venues located within London. Many of these roads also contained special "Olympic lanes" marked with the Olympic rings—reserved for the use of Olympic athletes, officials, and other VIPs during the Games. Members of the public driving in an Olympic lane were subject to a fine of £130. Additionally, London buses would not include roads with Olympic lanes on their routes.[71][72][73] Concerns were expressed at the logistics of spectators travelling to the events outside London. In particular, thesailing events atPortland had no direct motorway connections, and local roads are heavily congested by tourist traffic in the summer.[74] However, a £77 million relief road connecting Weymouth to Dorchester was built and opened in 2011.[75][76] Some £16 million was put aside for the rest of the improvements.[77]
TfL created a promotional campaign and website,Get Ahead of the Games, to help provide information related to transport during the Olympics and Paralympics. Through the campaign, TfL also encouraged the use of cycling as a mode of transport.[78] A temporary terminal was created atHeathrow Airport to be used by 10,100 departing athletes after the Games. Up to 35% more bags than normal were expected on 13 August, which was predicted to be the busiest day in the airport's history, according to Nick Cole, head of Olympic and Paralympic planning at Heathrow.
A study from Oxford University found that the sports-related costs of London 2012 amounted to US$15 billion, compared with $4.6 billion for Rio 2016, $40–44 billion for Beijing 2008, and $51 billion for Sochi 2014 (the most expensive Olympics in history). London 2012 went over budget by 76% in real terms, measured from bid to completion. The cost per athlete was $1.4 million.[79] This does not include wider costs for urban and transport infrastructure, which often equal or exceed the sports-related costs.
The costs of staging the Games were separate from those for building the venues and infrastructure and redeveloping the land for the Olympic Park. While the Games were privately funded, the venues and infrastructure were largely financed using public money.
According toThe Wall Street Journal, the original budget for the Games was increased to about £9.3 billion (US$15.28 billion) in 2007.[80] The revised figures were announced to theHouse of Commons on 15 March 2007 byTessa Jowell. Along with East End regeneration costs, the breakdown was:
Building the venues and infrastructure – £5.3 billion
Elite sport and Paralympic funding – £400 million
Security and policing – £600 million
Regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley – £1.7 billion
Unpaid volunteers known as Games Makers performed a variety of tasks before and during the Games.[81] A target of 70,000 volunteers was set as early as 2004.[82] When recruitment took place in 2010, more than 240,000 applications were received.[83] Sebastian Coe said in February 2012, "Our Games Makers will contribute a total of around eight million volunteer hours during the Games and the Games simply wouldn't happen without them".[84] The volunteers wore clothing that included purple and red polo shirts and jackets, beige trousers, grey socks and grey-and-whitetrainers, which they collected from theUniform Distribution and Accreditation Centre. Volunteers also wore photo accreditation badges that were also worn by officials, athletes, family members and media, which gained them access to specific venues and buildings around the site.
Organisers estimated that some 8 million tickets would be available for the Olympic Games,[85] and 1.5 million tickets for the Paralympic Games.[85] LOCOG aimed to raise £375–£400 million in ticket sales. There were also free events such as marathon, triathlon and road cycling,[86] although, for the first time in Olympic history, the sailing events were ticketed.[87] Eventually, more than 7,000,000 tickets were sold.[88] Following IOC rules, people applied for tickets from the NOC of their country of residence. European Union residents were able to apply for tickets in any EU country.[89]
In Great Britain, ticket prices ranged from £20 for many events to £2,012 for the most expensive seats at the opening ceremony. Some free tickets were given to military personnel as part of the Tickets For Troops scheme,[90] as well as to survivors and families of those who died during the7 July 2005 London bombings.[91] Initially, people were able to apply for tickets via a website from 15 March until 26 April 2011. There was a huge demand for tickets, with a demand of more than three times the number of tickets available.[92][93] On 11 May 2012 a round of nearly one million "second chance" tickets went on sale over a 10-day period between 23 June and 3 July 2011.[94] About 1.7 million tickets were available for football and 600,000 for other sports, including archery, field hockey, football, judo, boxing and volleyball. Ten sports had sold out by 8 am of the first day.[95]
A countdown clock inTrafalgar Square was unveiled, 500 days before the Games.[98][99] It was a two-sided clock with the Paralympic countdown on the other side. The countdown to the start of the Olympics began with a ceremony for the lighting of the Olympic flame inOlympia, Greece.[100]
The police led the security operation (namedOperation Olympics by the Ministry of Defence), with 10,000 officers available, supported by 13,500 members of theBritish Armed Forces.Naval andair assets were deployed as part of the security operation, including ships situated in theThames,Typhoon fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles;[101] it was the biggest security operation Britain had faced in decades. The cost of security increased from £282 million to £553 million, and the figure of 13,500 armed forces personnel was greater than the number deployed at the time in Afghanistan.[102] TheMetropolitan Police and theRoyal Marines carried out security exercises in preparation for the Olympics on 19 January 2012, with 50 marine police officers in rigid inflatables and fast response boats, joined by up to 100 military personnel and a Royal NavyLynx helicopter.[103]
TheMinistry of Defence distributed leaflets to residents of the Lexington building inBow, announcing that a missile system was to be stationed on top of the water tower.[104][105] This caused concern to some residents.[104][105] The Ministry said it probably would useStarstreak missiles and that site evaluations had taken place, but that no final decision had taken place.[104][105]
Approximately 4,700[106]Olympic and Paralympic medals were produced by theRoyal Mint atLlantrisant.[107] They were designed byDavid Watkins (Olympics) and Lin Cheung (Paralympics).[108] 99% of the gold, silver and copper was donated by Rio Tinto from a mine inSalt Lake County, Utah in the U.S.[109] The remaining 1% came from aMongolian mine.[110] Each medal weighs 375–400 g (13.2–14.1 oz), has a diameter of 85 mm (3.3 in) and is 7 mm (0.28 in) thick, with the sport and discipline engraved on the rim.[111] The obverse, as is traditional, featuresNike, the Greek goddess of victory, stepping from thePanathinaiko Stadium that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, with Parthenon in the background; the reverse features the Games logo, theRiver Thames and a series of lines representing "the energy of athletes and a sense of pulling together".[112] The medals were transferred to the Tower of London vaults on 2 July 2012 for storage.[111]
Each gold medal is 92.5 percent silver and 1.34 percent gold, with the remainder copper. The silver medal is 92.5 percent silver, with the remainder copper. The bronze medal is made up of 97 percent copper, 2.5 percent zinc, and 0.5 per cent tin.[113] The value of the materials in the gold medal was about £410 (US$644), the silver about £210 (US$330), and the bronze about £3 (US$4.71) as of 30 July 2012.[114]
The Olympics torch relay ran from 19 May to 27 July 2012, before the Games. Plans for the relay were developed in 2010–11, with the torch-bearer selection process announced on 18 May 2011.[115] The torch was designed byEdward Barber and Jay Osgerby.
On 18 May 2012 theOlympic flame arrived atRNAS Culdrose inCornwall from Greece[116] on flight BA2012, operated by aBritish AirwaysAirbus A319 named "Firefly". The relay lasted 70 days, with 66 evening celebrations and six island visits, and involved some 8,000 people carrying the torch about 8,000 mi (12,875 km), starting fromLand's End in Cornwall.[117] The torch had three days outside the United Kingdom when it visited theIsle of Man on 2 June,Dublin in Ireland, on 6 June,[118] and bothGuernsey andJersey on 15 July.
The relay focused on National Heritage Sites, locations with sporting significance, key sporting events, schools registered with the Get Set School Network, green spaces and biodiversity, Live Sites (city locations with large screens), and festivals and other events.[119]Dumfries and Galloway was the only Region in the whole of the United Kingdom that had the Olympic Torch pass through it twice. A group of young athletes, nominated by retired Olympic athletes, ran the torch around the stadium. These torchbearers wereCallum Airlie,Jordan Duckitt,Desiree Henry,Katie Kirk,Cameron MacRitchie, Aidan Reynolds, andAdelle Tracey. Together the torchbearers each lit a petal that spread the fire to the 204 petals of thecauldron, representing the countries that participated in the Games.[120] The cauldron was designed byThomas Heatherwick.
The Olympic Park was planned to incorporate 45 hectares of wildlife habitat, with a total of 525 bird boxes and 150 bat boxes. Local waterways and riverbanks were enhanced as part of the process.[121] Renewable energy also featured at the Olympics. It was originally planned to provide 20% of the energy for the Olympic Park and Village from renewable technologies; however, only 9% of it was achieved.[122] Proposals to meet the original target included large-scale on-site wind turbines andhydroelectric generators in the River Thames, but these plans were scrapped for safety reasons.[123] The focus subsequently moved to installing solar panels on some buildings, and providing the opportunity to recover energy from waste. Where it could not be reused or recycled, food packaging for use at the Olympics—including fast-food wrappers, sandwich boxes and drink cartons—was made from compostable materials like starch and cellulose-basedbioplastics. After use, many of these materials were suitable foranaerobic digestion (AD), allowing them to be made into renewable energy.[124]
Post-Games, buildings like theWater Polo Arena were relocated elsewhere. Building parts like roofing covers and membranes of different temporary venues were recycled viaVinyLoop. This allowed organisers to meet the standards of theOlympic Delivery Authority concerning environmental protection.
London 2012 inaugurated Olympic Games guidelines that included the recycling of PVC, which was used for temporary buildings such as the Basketball Arena and for the temporary parts of permanent venues such as the Olympic Stadium.[125] In the Water Polo Arena, PVC roofing was made from recycled cushions to provide insulation.[126] Through this recycling process, the Olympic Games PVC Policy was fulfilled; the policy states:[127]
Where London 2012 procures PVC for temporary usage or where permanent usage is not assured, London 2012 is required to ensure that there is a take-back scheme that offers a closed-loop reuse system or mechanical recycling system forpost-consumer waste.
According to Kirsten Henson, Materials Manager for the London 2012 Olympic Park: "The majority of temporary facilities created for the Olympic Games including theAquatic centre temporary stands, basketball arena, Water Polo Arena, and the shooting facilities at theRoyal Artillery Barracks, are essentially big tents. Basically, PVC stretched over lightweight steel frame. This design solution makes them efficient to install, reduces the need for any significant foundations and are, of course, reusable. We were challenged by the public around the use of PVC; but we considered it to be the right material for certain functions. We therefore challenged the PVC supply chain to have certain environmental performance criteria in place, including a take back and recycle scheme."[128]
Tower Bridge was illuminated with the Olympic Rings in the week leading up to the opening ceremony.
TheOlympic Charter, the set of rules and guidelines for the organization of the Olympic Games and for governing the Olympic Movement, states that
LOCOG shall organise a programme of cultural events which must cover at least the entire period during which theOlympic Village is open.[129]
The Cultural Olympiad comprised many programmes, with more than 500 events spread over four years across the whole of the United Kingdom, and culminating in theLondon 2012 Festival.[130][131]
Titled "The Isles of Wonder", the opening ceremony began at 21:00British Summer Time (UTC+1) on 27 July in the Olympic Stadium.[132] Oscar-winning directorDanny Boyle was artistic director andRick Smith ofUnderworld was musical director.[133] The opening ceremony was immediately seen as a tremendous success, widely praised as a "masterpiece" and "a love letter to Britain".[134][22] The principal sections of the artistic display represented Britain'sIndustrial Revolution,National Health Service, literary heritage, popular music andculture, and were noted for their vibrantstorytelling and use of music.
During the Games, some countries and continents had a "national house". These temporary meeting places for supporters, athletes and other followers were located throughout London.[147][148]
The 2012 Summer Olympics featured 26 different sports encompassing 39 disciplines and 302 events. In the list below, the number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.
Women's boxing was included in the programme for the first time, and 36 women competed in three weight classes. There was aspecial dispensation for the shooting events, which would otherwise have been illegal underUK gun law.[149][150] In tennis, mixed doubles returned to the Olympic programme for the first time since 1924.[151]
London's bid featured the same 28 sports that had been included in other recent Summer Olympics, but the IOC voted to dropbaseball andsoftball from the 2012 Games just two days after London had been selected as the host city. There was an appeal, but the IOC voted to uphold the decision, and the two sports were scheduled to be discontinued after their last appearance at the2008 Olympics.[152] The IOC then voted on whether or not to replace them;karate,squash,golf,roller sports andrugby sevens were considered. Karate and squash were the two final nominees, but neither received enough votes to reach the required two-thirds majority.[152]
Although formaldemonstration sports were eliminated after the 1992 Summer Olympics,[153] special tournaments for non-Olympic sports can be run during the Games, such as theWushu tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[154] There were attempts to runTwenty20 cricket[154] andnetball[155] tournaments alongside the 2012 Games, but neither campaign was successful.
These Olympic Games resulted in 32 world records in eight sports. The largest number of records were set in swimming, at eight. China, Great Britain and the United States set the most records, with five each.
A total of 85 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) won medals, 54 of those countries winning at least one gold medal. Seven NOCs won their first ever Olympic medal:Bahrain (gold),[157]Botswana (silver),[158]Cyprus (silver),[159]Gabon (silver),[160]Grenada (gold),[161]Guatemala (silver),[162] andMontenegro (silver).[163] TheUnited States finished at the top of the table, winning 48 gold medals and a total of 104 medals.China finished second with 38 gold medals and 91 medals overall, and hostsGreat Britain came in third place, winning 29 gold medals and 65 medals overall in their best performance since London hosted its first Summer Olympics in1908, pushingRussia—who won 18 gold medals and 64 medals in total, after doping redistributions (initially 24 gold and 82 total)—into fourth place.
The host broadcaster wasOlympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), an agency of the IOC. The OBS used its own cameras and crews subcontracted from other Olympic broadcasters to cover the events. The base video and audio were sold to other broadcasters, who added their owncommentary and presentation.
The official recording format of the 2012 Summer Olympics usedPanasonic's digital technologies. The official video was produced and distributed from theInternational Broadcast Centre in 1080/50i High-Definition (HD) format. Panasonic announced that DVCPRO HD would be the official recording format. OBS London usedP2 HD shoulder-mount camcorders.[167]
The IOC wanted television coverage to reach as broad a worldwide audience as possible, and several national and regional broadcasters covered London 2012. In the UK, theBBC carried the Olympics andChannel 4 the Paralympics. The BBC aimed to broadcast all 5,000 hours of the Games.[168]BBC Parliament'sFreeview channel was suspended,BBC Three's on-air time was extended so that it could show Olympic events in the daytime, and 24 additional BBC Olympics channels were available via cable, satellite and the internet in the UK.
The US television rights, owned byNBC, accounted for more than half the rights revenue for the IOC. Despite high viewership, many viewers were disappointed with NBC's coverage.[169] The operations of broadcasters granted rights to the Games were hosted in the dedicated International Broadcast Centre inside the security cordon of the Olympic Park. YouTube planned to stream the Games in 64 territories in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa where there were no official broadcasters.[170]
InSri Lanka a dispute occurred betweenSri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) andMBC Networks (MTV/MBC) as to who was the official broadcaster of the Games. This problem was caused asAsia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) had offered the official broadcasting rights to both networks, as both of the networks were ABU members. So SLRC filed a case against MBC Networks for broadcasting rights at the Colombo Magistrate's Court. Considering the case, the court issued a special court order preventing MBC Networks' Olympic broadcast and stated that SLRC should be the sole broadcaster.[171] However, when the Games started, both networks broadcast most of the events simultaneously. Another dispute had previously occurred betweenCarlton Sports Network (CSN) and SLRC, but the Sports Minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, had stated that SLRC had the exclusive rights.[172]
In November 2012, the IOC announced the winners of the Golden Ring Awards for the best broadcast coverage of the Games. Best Olympic Sports Production was awarded to the sailing, produced by Christopher Lincoln, Gary Milkis, and Ursula Romero. The production for the canoe/kayak slalom and the rowing/canoe sprint came second and third respectively. The award for Best On Air Promotion went toNBC with Foxtel and ZDF finishing second and third. NBC Olympics also won the Best Olympic Feature category, asSky Italia came second and ZDF third. The Best Athlete Profile award went toTV Record's profile ofSarah Menezes, NBC came second with their profile ofDavid Rudisha, andESPN Latin America took third place with a profile ofMiguel Correa and Ruben Rezola. The award for Best Olympic Programme went to NBC, host broadcasters the BBC took second place for Super Saturday (the middle Saturday of the Games), and third place was claimed by theNine Network for their live coverage of Day 16 of the Games.[173]
"Survival" byMuse was announced as the official song of the Olympics,[174] to be played by international broadcasters reporting on the Games.[175] The track was noted to express a sense of conviction and determination to win.[176] In August 2009, theRoyal Mail commissioned artists and illustrators to design 30 stamps, which were released in batches of 10 between 2009 and 2011.[177] The last ones were released on 22 July 2011.[178] Two £5 coins designed bySaiman Miah have been made to commemorate the Olympics.[179] As with other Olympics since 1952, the Royal Mint will strike a set of commemorative one-kilogram gold and silver coins.[180]
The official motto for the 2012 Summer Olympics is "Inspire a generation". It was chosen to highlight the organisers' commitment to inspire the world, including younger generations, to get involved in sporting events through the Games' legacy.[181] A secondary motto of "Be part of it" was also used throughout marketing.[182]
There have been two London 2012 logos: one used for the bidding process, and the other used in the branding for the Games themselves. The bid logo, created by Kino Design, was a ribbon with blue, yellow, black, green, and red stripes winding through the text "LONDON 2012", making the shape of the River Thames in East London. The main logo, designed byWolff Olins and published on 4 June 2007, is a representation of the number 2012, with theOlympic Rings embedded within the zero.[183]
TheParalympics logo (far left) and the different official colour combinations for theWolff Olins main logo design
Public reaction to the main logo in a June 2007 BBC poll was negative; more than 80% of votes gave it the lowest possible rating.[184] Several newspapers ran their own logo competitions, displaying alternative submissions from their readers,[185] and several writers from news agencies criticised the logo.[185][186][187] It was suggested that the logo resembled the American cartoon charactersLisa Simpson andBart Simpson performingfellatio.[188][189] In February 2011,Iran threatened to boycott the Olympics, complaining that the logo appeared to spell out the word "Zion". However, this boycott did not occur.[190]
The four main colours used in the branding of the Games were pink, blue, green and orange. These colours were chosen to showcase the spirit of the Games: energetic, spirited, youthful, and bright.
The auxiliary colours used in the branding were dark purple, grey, and gold. These were mostly used in symbols and graphics to offset the brightness of the main colours.
Creative Review magazine liked the mascots,[194] but elsewhere their design was greeted with some disdain. However, the mascots' creators claim that young people find the duo appealing.[195]
The 1981Best Picture Oscar–winning filmChariots of Fire, which tells the story of two British athletes in the1924 Olympics, was a recurring theme in promotions for the 2012 Olympics.[196] A digitally re-mastered version ofChariots of Fire was released on 13 July 2012 and screened in over 100 UK cinemas as part of the celebrations,[197] and a2012 stage adaptation ran in London theatres from 9 May 2012 to 5 January 2013.[198] The film'stheme tune was performed during theopening ceremony by theLondon Symphony Orchestra, conducted bySimon Rattle. The performance was accompanied by a comedic skit byRowan Atkinson, which included the opening beach-running footage from the film.[199] A new orchestration of the film's theme tune was played during eachmedal presentation of the Games.[200]
During the lead-up to the Games, there were controversies over sponsorship,[201] the athletes' use of social media, and several political issues. After a complicated lottery process, thousands of people failed to secure seats for the events they wanted, but a large number of empty seats were observed early in the Games, even at some of the most popular events. There was speculation that this was due to a failure of corporate sponsors to make use of tickets they had received.[88]
During the Games, eight competitors in thebadminton women's doubles were disqualified for "not using best efforts", when they tried to lose matches in the group stage to obtain more favourable fixtures in the knockout rounds.[202][203] A number of results in boxing, gymnastics and judo were overturned by officials after initial decisions were appealed against.[204][205][206]
It was announced before the Summer Games that half of all the competitors would be tested for drugs, with 150 scientists set to take 6,000 samples between the start of the Games and the end of the Paralympic Games.[207] Every competitor who won a medal was also tested. The Olympic laboratory tested up to 400 samples every day for more than 240 prohibited substances.[207]
Although there were less than 10 doping violations detected during the games, in the years following many samples were retested with improved laboratory procedures. This resulted in a large number of disqualifications and rescinded medals. As of mid 2024, 44 medals have beenstripped due to doping violations with around 130 total disqualifications.[208] In particular, almost 50 were fromRussian athletes. Testing for drugs was completed by GSK (GlaxoSmithKline).[209]
^Athens has also hosted threeIOC-organised events, in1896,2004 and theIntercalated Games in1906. However, the 1906 Games are no longer officially recognised by the IOC, as they do not fit with the quadrennial pattern of the modern Olympics.
^Originally, Israel had 38 participating athletes but swimmerJonatan Kopelev, who had qualified for the Olympics in June 2012, had to withdraw from the team after having his appendix removed two weeks before the Games.
^ab"Olympics – Countries".BBC Sport. Archived fromthe original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved19 July 2012.From the 27th of July 2012 – 204 countries will send more than 10,000 athletes to compete in 300 events
^Waldram, Hannah (12 August 2012)."Has the Olympics changed London?".The Guardian (London 2012 Olympics blog).Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved14 August 2012.
^Oliver, Mark (6 July 2005)."London wins 2012 Olympics".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 2 January 2014.The IOC president, Jacques Rogge, announced the result at 1248BST – around an hour after it had been decided in secret.
Pamment, James. "'Putting the GREAT Back into Britain': National Identity, Public-Private Collaboration & Transfers of Brand Equity in 2012's Global Promotional Campaign,"British Journal of Politics & International Relations (2015) 17#2 pp 260–283.
Surowiec, Pawel. and Philip Long. "Hybridity and Soft Power Statecraft: The 'GREAT' Campaign."Diplomacy & Statecraft 31:1 (2020): 1–28.online review[1]
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