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London is gearing up for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games – the
third time the capital has hosted the event in modern times.
The city was selected to stage the 17-day sporting
extravaganza (July 27 to August 12) following a close-run race
against its main rivals Madrid, Moscow, Paris and New York.
Nearly eight million tickets will be made available, with
an additional 1.5 million tickets earmarked for the Paralympic
Games (August 29 to September 9). They are due to go on sale
in 2011.
The original Games were staged on the plain of Olympia in
Greece. The first accurate historical mention of the Games
dates them to 766BC.
At that time the event consisted of a single sprint race.
In contrast, the 2012 Olympics will have 26 sports and 39
disciplines while the Paralympics will boast 20 sports and 21
disciplines.
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The Park will contain key venues such as the main
80,000-seat Olympic stadium, the Aquatic Centre and Velodrome
as well as hockey, handball and basketball arenas.
Many other venues in the London area will also be used.
These include Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon, Lord's cricket
ground, Hyde Park and Regent's Park.
Sailing will take place at the Weymouth and Portland
National Sailing Academy in Dorset while venues suitable for
football outside London will include Hampden Park, Glasgow,
the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Old Trafford in Manchester,
St James’s Park, Newcastle, and Villa Park in Birmingham.
The Olympic events are as follows:
Aquatics
Archery
Athletics
Badminton
Basketball
Boxing
Canoeing
Cycling
Equestrian
Fencing
Football
Gymnastics
Handball
Hockey
Judo
Modern Pentathlon
Rowing
Sailing
Shooting
Table Tennis
Taekwondo
Tennis
Triathlon
Volleyball
Weightlifting
Wrestling
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