The Olympic Games And London, A Timeline of the Drama

London first hosted the Olympic Games in 1908. Originally slated to be held in Naples, it was later on decided to have London do the honors when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1906. Funds for the Games were diverted to rehabilitating the city of Naples so a new venue was needed. Contenders were Berlin and Milan.

In 1948, London again hosted the Games. World War II just ended and while Europe was still rebuilding its economies, it was decided that participants will bring in their own food, no new venue will be erected and that male athletes were housed at an army camp while women in dormitories.

This year, London fought hard to have their city host the Olympic Games once again. The then Prime Minister Tony Blair called it a "momentous day" for Britain when the International Olympic Committee finally announced that London will be the site for the 2012 Games. The man responsible for the campaign to have London host the Olympic Games again is Lord Sebastian Coe.

And below are the notable milestones prior to the day London was announced as the venue:

• In December 2003, Prime Minister Tony Blair makes an allusion about London's bid in a sports breakfast he hosted in Nigeria. The IOC prohibits any promotion of bids before official announcements of the final candidature of cities.


• In 2003, nine cities including London submitted their respective bids to host the Olympic Games in 2012. Early favorites were Madrid and staunch rival, Paris. The other bidders were Havana, Liepzig, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow and New York City. It is said that the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games was most hotly contested in the history of the IOC.


• The next year, May of 2004, the top five cities were listed after careful technical evaluation. Havana, Liepzig, Istanbul and Rio de Janeiro were eliminated.


• In 2005, the IOC Evaluation Commission, consisting of 12 members, visited the five bidding cities. Although the March 9-12 visit to Paris experienced setbacks, namely a massive transport strike and a Paris bid team's Guy Drut faced charges of corruption. In spite of this, a couple of months after the visit, it was reported that Paris came out the most positive among the candidates, followed closely by London.
• On July 6, 2005, the IOC announced that London will host the 2012 Olympic Games. It beat Paris by four points, 54 votes to 50 after Moscow, Madrid and New York were eliminated. The three were eliminated after the first three rounds and were allowed to vote in the next round. London led in the first, third and final rounds of voting.

After London was voted to be the venue for the 2012 Olympic Games, speculations came out about Paris's loss on a slim margin. Then French President Jacques Chirac made comments that "the only worse food than British food is Finnish."

There were two IOC members from Finland voting on the final ballot. While we will never know if the comment on London's cuisine sealed the fate, it's making us curious what sort of food will be available in the Athlete's Village. Especially near the French's lodgings.

China at Olympics or "China's Olympics"

On 24th August 2008, China, the hosts of 2008 Beijing Olympics, topped the medals tally with an astonishing count of 100 medals. This was the first time in the history of Olympic Games, that the Americans had been upstaged as the numero uno sporting nation. The Chinese contingent won a staggering 51 gold medals, 15 more than the US athletes.

Since the inception of Olympics in 1896, USA has always been amongst the top-3 medal winning contingents, and finishing at the top on numerous occasions. At times, the US contingent has won almost double the gold medals, than the 2nd placed team. But this was the trend till China started participating in Olympic Games.

Returning to 1984 Olympics, after their first participation in 1952, China has slowly clawed its way to the top of the medals tally. From winning 5 medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, China won 51 Gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Also, for the first time since 1980 Moscow Olympics, which the USA had boycotted, a country had upstaged USA, in the number of gold medals won.

While USA's tally of gold medals has been the same (36) at the last three Olympics, China has continuously bettered its performance, almost doubling its gold medal count (28) from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. This is a result of the no-nonsense approach to sports, adopted by the Chinese establishment. Hiring the best foreign coaches, grooming local coaches and spotting talent at a young age have been regular initiatives of the China Olympic Committee (COC). The athletes and training staff are given the best training facilities and regular exposure at international events, to develop and test their skills.

Over the past decade, China has not only continued its supremacy on sports it has dominated traditionally; but has also ventured into sports which were once considered to be a US & European bastion. China has made the disciplines like Gymnastics, Diving and Shooting, their own, which were once dominated by Russia. They walked away with 23 Gold medals, from only these 3 categories, a record at the 2008 Olympic Games. At the same time, Chinese athletes have returned with gold medals in disciplines like Weightlifting and Shooting, which were till now, Eastern European strongholds.

China has fielded its teams in Baseball & Basketball, which has been an assured US gold medal till now. The performance of Chinese baseball team in the debut outing at 2008 Games had nothing much to write about. Also, the Basketball team has not made any major breakthrough till now. Despite all this, it seems China will surely win a medal in these sports, in the Games to come. Many Chinese players are seen plying-their-trade, in the NBA and American baseball league, so as to improve their game by playing with the best. In fact, many Chinese players have become a top draw with the American baseball and basketball teams.

Another interesting development has been the Chinese foray into somewhat neglected sports at the Olympic Games. For example, women's tennis doubles event has rarely seen the top tennis stars participating in it. China, very smartly fielded two teams in this discipline in 2004 Athens Olympics, and returned with a Gold medal.

It does not stop here. China has been building and sending strong teams in other disciplines like Swimming, Cycling, Archery and Hockey. In fact, China returned with medals in all these disciplines at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Add to all this, the Chinese dominance in sports like Badminton, Table Tennis, Judo and Taekwondo continues. It all points to the systematic efforts taken by China to establish itself as a sports super power, outdoing the USA.

Looking to Attend the London 2012 Olympics? Then It's Advised to Apply for Your UK Visa Now

A number of UK Embassies across the world are urging the nations that they represent to apply now for their UK Visa if they are hoping to make it to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. In a bid to deal with the expected influx of people set to arrive on British shores this summer, UK Immigration has already begun processing UK Visa applications to meet the increasing demand.

A number of UK Visa and Immigration service providers are also on hand to help people from all over the globe to complete their Olympic Visa applications. These services offer fantastic advice and guidance and can also take the stress out of having to apply for a Visa by yourself. The process of applying for a UK Visa can be daunting because of the amount of paperwork involved.

However, the earlier people apply; the better as leaving it to the latest minute could result in delays and even disappointment at not being able to obtain a UK Visa at all. For those attending the London Olympics in an official capacity, UK Immigration will issue these people with an Olympic Accreditation Card.

Official capacity status applies to accredited athletes, coaches, officials and the media and they will be accredited by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). The Olympic Accreditation Card will give the holder complete access to all Olympic and Paralympic venues and in the majority of cases, the card will serve as a 'free pass' to the UK. This will allow holders entry to the UK without a visa between 30th March 2012 and November 8th 2012.

People attending the UK Olympics as tourists will have to abide by UK Immigration laws. Therefore, standard procedures will still apply throughout the duration of the Olympic Games and the process for applying will be no different than applying at any other time.

For example, a person who has relatives in the UK that wish to sponsor their visit will still need to apply for a Family Visit Visa through the proper channels. It is important that you do your research when applying for your visa, in order to ensure that you have the right visa for you that will get you past border checks upon arriving in the UK.

People who do not have family members residing in the UK will need to apply for a General Visit Visa and UK Embassies across the world and the British High Commission is stating that when filling out an application, applicants should identify the purpose of their visit as a tourist coming for the Olympics.

For help and guidance UK Visa and Immigration services are on hand to assist. However, they do urge that people apply as soon as possible in order to avoid delays. Getting your application in early could see your Visa application processed within 15 days, so it's certainly beneficial to begin sooner rather than later.

Olympic Facts - Women's Basketball Olympic Tournament

Montreal (Quebec, Canada), one of the most beautiful and modern sites in the Western Hemisphere, hosted the First Women's Basketball Olympic Tournament in 1976. Six countries competed for the gold medal, including Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Japan. The international meet was won by the women's national team of the Soviet Union (present-day Russia). A barely a year earlier, the Soviet team came in first in the VII Global championship in Cali, Colombia (South America) by beating Japan in the gold-medal match. Meanwhile, on July 23, 1976, America claimed second place in the multi-sport event after losing to the USSR (spearheaded by its international star Uljana Semjonova) 112-77, having earned the right to compete in the XXIII Olympiad by winning the First FIBA Women's Basketball Olympic Games Qualification Tournament at Hamilton (Ontario, Canada). The silver medalists were Lusia Harris, Cindy Brogdon, Susan Rojcewicz, Ann Meyers, Julienne Simpson, Patricia Head, Mary Anne O'Connor, Patricia Roberts, Gail Marquis, Nancy Lieberman, Charlotte Lewis, and Nancy Dunkle. The US team began its pre-Olympic preparation after winning the VI Pan American Cup in Mexico City in October 1975.

Moscow 1980

Under the leadership of Semjonova, the USSR, host nation, won the Olympic Tournament at Moscow in 1980, followed by Bulgaria (silver medal), Yugoslavia (bronze), Hungary (4th), Cuba (5th) and Italy (6th). It was the second Olympian win for the USSR (also known as the Soviet Union during Cold War). On the other hand, Latvia's giant Uljana Semjonova was the most outstanding basketball player at Moscow '80. For the next years, the 7-foot-1, 284-pound Semjonova was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield (Maryland), the first female player from the former USSR to accomplish that feat.

Los Angeles 1984

For the first ever, the US women's basketball squad captured the Olympian Championship in Southern California. The People's Republic of China collected the silver medal. The bronze medal went to the Republic of Korea; East Europe's teams did not take part at the 1984 Olympiad because of Moscow's boycott. On its way to the Los Angeles Games, the US team - with notable sportswomen such as Janice Lawrence, Cheryl Miller, and Lynette Woodard - won the IX Pan American Sports Games on Venezuelan soil in August 1983. In Venezuela, America defeated Cuba 100-82 (43-38) to win the Pan American gold medal. A few weeks ago, they came close to winning the FIBA World Cup on Brazilian soil.

Seoul 1988

On October 29, 1988, in South Korea's capital city of Seoul, the U.S. women's team took gold in the Olympian event, after finishing first during the 1984 Games in Los Angeles (California). In the finals, they defeated Yugoslavia 77-70 (42-36). Nonetheless, the "most exciting game" was when America, led by its All-Star player Teresa Edwards, beat the Soviet Union 102-88 (50-39) on October 27 (semis). The States won the Olympian trophy with the following world-class players: Suzanne McConnell, Cynthia Cooper, Jennifer Gillom, Katrina McClaim, Andrea Lloyd, Victoria Bullett, Bridgette Gordon, Teresa Weatherspoon, Anne Donovan, Cynthia Brown, Mary Ethridge, and Miss Edwards. Two years ago, in 1986, they had won the global tournament in the Russian capital of Moscow. In the latter half of the 20th century, America's Edwards made history when she captured four golds in the Summer Games from the 1980s to the early 2000s: Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. Uljana Semjonova (Latvia), Hortencia Fatima Marcari (Brazil) and Edwards are considered the most famous female players in Olympian history.

Atlanta Games 1996

A miracle occurred at Atlanta 1996! Despite suffering a bloody civil war, where over four million people were slaughtered (and thousands of girls were raped), incredibly the African republic of Zaire (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo /D.R.C) qualified as one of the 12 best teams of the world in the Games of the 26th Olympiad in the States, giving an example to several countries in the Third World, from Peru and the Philippines to India and Brunei Darussalam. Without a doubt, it was the "most memorable moment in Zaire's sporting history." After receiving support from Dikembe Mutumbo, a Congolese-born American star player, the African team went to Atlanta. From an Olympian perspective, Zaire's team should be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Athens 2004

The 2004 Olympic Tournament was won by the United States of America followed by Australia (silver medal), Russia (bronze), Brazil (4th), Czech Republic (5th), Spain (6th), Greece (7th), New Zealand (8th), the People's Republic of China (9th ), Japan ( 10th place), Nigeria (11th) and South Korea (12th). In the Greek capital of Athens, the States captured its third gold medal for the third time in a row - the most wins of the basketball Olympic tournament by a women's squad. Curiously, Nigeria's basketball player Mfon Udoka was the championship's second best scorer with 21.7 points.

Alejandro Guevara Onofre: Within a span of three years, Alejandro has produced a host of high-quality articles/essays about cultures of the world, "re-discovering countries" and exploring exotic locations -from Chad to Vietnam, from Kosovo to the paradise island of Dominica - and new biographies (from such disparate individuals as Halle Berry, Alicia Alonso, José Gamarra Zorrilla, Raúl Castro Ruz, and Mario Vargas Llosa). He also has made a name for himself as an expert on Summer Olympics, becoming the top "Olympian author" at EzineArticles.com; stories based on athletic perseverance and Olympian spirit in global sports, including the United States of America. Under this backdrop, he has declared himself as "the world's No. 1 fan of the Olympics".