105-726: The Water Polo Arena was a temporary sporting venue of the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012. It was situated in the south-east corner of the Olympic Park , alongside the Aquatics Centre , and opposite the Olympic Stadium on the opposite bank of the Waterworks River . The Aquatics Centre and Water Polo Arena were adjacent to each other in one of the most compact areas of
210-534: A 10-day period between 23 June and 3 July 2011. 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. During the closing ceremony of the 2008 Olympics , the Olympic Flag was formally handed over from the Mayor of Beijing to the Mayor of London . This
315-458: A British Olympic Association rule preventing any athlete formerly banned for doping from Olympic selection, was overturned. In the road events Bradley Wiggins won the gold medal and Chris Froome the bronze in the men's time trial. This was Wiggins seventh Olympic medal and took him past Steve Redgrave as the British athlete with the most Olympic medals. He also became the first man to win
420-427: A British field hockey team at a Summer Olympics since 1992. The team won 65 medals in total: 29 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze; after medal reallocation in men's high jump: 29 gold, 18 silver, and 18 bronze. For each gold medallist, a post box was painted gold by Royal Mail in recognition of the achievement, usually in the competitor's home town. A first class stamp depicting each gold medal-winning individual or team
525-545: A former Italian Olympic Committee member, estimated 59 medals, 16 of them gold. UK Sport set targets for medals and positions for each individual Olympic sports except Football. These are listed in the table below, along with the actual Team GB performance. The only sport which Team GB failed to meet its medal target was in Swimming . In the Olympic cycle from 2008 until 2012 the government agency UK Sport allocated
630-436: A further one (men's pursuit). Nations are also limited to 14 riders in total, although 2 riders from other cycling disciplines may also be called upon. Great Britain qualified in all track events. On 18 June 2012, British Cycling confirmed two accredited 'P' places – sprinters Ross Edgar and Becky James – essentially, substitute riders officially selected for the Olympic squad in the event of injury or illness. Competitors in
735-689: A network of roads leading between venues as the Olympic 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. Concerns were expressed at
840-496: A primary factor in the numbers was the existence of excellent sports facilities and specialized coaching at the private schools and lack of the same at many state-sponsored schools. The Great Britain kit was designed by Stella McCartney . In addition to the Olympic merchandise, a range of Team GB branded items went on sale including the BOA's official mascot Pride. The following is the list of number of competitors participating in
945-554: A programme of cultural events which must cover at least the entire period during which the Olympic Village is open. 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 the London 2012 Festival . Titled "The Isles of Wonder", the opening ceremony began at 21:00 British Summer Time ( UTC +1) on 27 July in
1050-467: 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. A temporary terminal was created at Heathrow 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
1155-448: A result of a scored technical evaluation, the IOC reduced the number of cities to five: London, Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris. 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
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#17327810716131260-459: A result, Sharp's inclusion meant the exclusion of four other runners that had achieved the 'A' standard, including 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships gold medallist Jenny Meadows . Gareth Warburton was initially not selected for the 800 metres, having failed to achieve the 'A' qualifying standard at the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, but was granted a place at
1365-678: A sports hall in Eton Manor was pulled down. The athletes' village in Portland was completed in September 2011. In November 2004, the 200-hectare (500-acre) Olympic Park plans were revealed. The plans for the site were approved in September 2004 by Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney and Waltham Forest. The redevelopment of the area to build the Olympic Park required compulsory purchase orders of property. The London Development Agency
1470-617: A target of finishing in the top four of the medal table and winning at least 48 medals across at least 12 sports based on an aggregate medal range of 40–70. although a specific number of gold medals was not targeted. Team GB was also highly rated by other expert and professional sport bodies prior to the Olympics. This included a team of experts invited by BBC Radio 5 live, which implied an estimated total of 95 medals: 27 gold, 25 silver and 43 bronze. Sports statistics provider Infostrada projected 57 medals, 16 of them gold. Sheffield Hallam University 56 medals, 27 of them gold; whilst Luciana Barra
1575-481: A total budget of more than £264 million towards funding Team GB and the individual athletes and teams specifically for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The sports which received the highest funding were rowing , cycling , athletics , sailing , and swimming . The only sports on the Olympic Programme that were not given any funding by the body were football and beach volleyball . The team, known by
1680-577: A total of seven medals, including six golds which surpassed the five golds won by former rower Steve Redgrave . Hoy also tied for the most total Olympic medals for a Briton with road cyclist Bradley Wiggins , who won the gold in the men's time trial. Ben Ainslie became the most successful sailor in Olympic history, after winning his fourth gold medal in the Finn class. With three medals (two golds and one silver) in total, Victoria Pendleton became Great Britain's most successful female Olympic athlete, surpassing
1785-588: Is organised by the British Olympic Association (BOA) who have since 1999 branded it Team GB , explaining that " Team GB is the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team." The BOA selected a team of 541 athletes, 279 men and 262 women, to compete in all sports after gaining automatic qualification places in their respective events. The BOA by-law preventing the selection of athletes sanctioned for anti-doping rule violations
1890-513: Is the Great Britain roster in the men's basketball tournament of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The following is the Great Britain roster in the women's basketball tournament of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Britain was guaranteed five male boxers at the Games and one female entrant, by virtue of being the host nation. However following the 2011 World Championships, five British boxers had claimed their places. The special 'host' places for men's boxing therefore became void. The boxers who qualified through
1995-514: The ExCeL exhibition centre and providing a crossing every 30 seconds. The plan was to have 80% of athletes travel less than 20 minutes to their event and 93% of them within 30 minutes of their event. The Olympic Park would be served by ten separate railway lines with a combined capacity of 240,000 passengers per hour. In addition, LOCOG planned for 90% of the venues to be served by three or more types of public transport. Two park-and-ride sites off
2100-656: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) as Great Britain , selects athletes from all four of the Home Nations (England, Northern Ireland , Scotland and Wales ), as well as the three Crown Dependencies ( Isle of Man , Jersey and Guernsey ), and all but three of the British overseas territories ( Cayman Islands , British Virgin Islands and Bermuda having their own NOCs). The team
2205-510: The M25 with a combined capacity of 12,000 cars were 25 minutes away from the Olympic Park. Another park-and-ride site was planned in Ebbsfleet with a capacity for 9,000 cars where spectators could board a 10-minute shuttle train service. To get spectators to Eton Dorney , four park-and-ride schemes were set up. These Park and Ride services were operated by First Games Transport . TfL defined
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#17327810716132310-601: The Panathinaiko Stadium that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, with Parthenon in the background; the reverse features the Games logo, the River Thames and a series of lines representing "the energy of athletes and a sense of pulling together". The medals were transferred to the Tower of London vaults on 2 July 2012 for storage. Each gold medal is 92.5 percent silver and 1.34 percent gold, with
2415-751: The Uniform 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, and 1.5 million tickets for the Paralympic Games. LOCOG aimed to raise £375–£400 million in ticket sales. There were also free events such as marathon, triathlon and road cycling, although, for
2520-555: The Water Polo Arena were relocated elsewhere. Building parts like roofing covers and membranes of different temporary venues were recycled via VinyLoop . This allowed organisers to meet the standards of the Olympic 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
2625-536: The group stage in women's football , began on 25 July at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff , Wales, followed by the opening ceremony on 27 July. There were 10,518 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) who participated in the 2012 Olympics. Following a bid headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe and the then- London mayor Ken Livingstone , London was selected as
2730-414: The 10,000 metres, Jessica Ennis in heptathlon, and the world leading, but slightly less favoured Greg Rutherford in the long jump, won 3 gold medals for Great Britain in the space of 49 minutes on the middle Saturday of the Games. * Competed in relay heats only * Competed in relay heats only As hosts, Team GB were entitled to enter two badminton players regardless of how they fared in qualifying. At
2835-585: The 19 gold-medal tally from Beijing , making it the most successful Olympics since 1908 . Great Britain finished the Summer Olympic Games with a total of 65 medals (29 gold, 17 silver, and 19 bronze; after medal reallocation in men's high jump: 29 gold, 18 silver, and 18 bronze), coming third in the medal table rankings, and fourth in the total number of medal rankings. At least one medal was awarded to Team GB in seventeen sports, eleven of them containing at least one gold. British athletes dominated
2940-688: 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". 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 as Hyde Park and Horse Guards Parade . After the Games, some of the new facilities would be reused in their Olympic form, while others will be resized or relocated. The majority of venues were divided into three zones within Greater London :
3045-533: 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. IOC's initial evaluation felt that, if transport improvements were delivered in time for the Games, London would cope. Transport for London (TfL) carried out numerous improvements in preparation for 2012, including
3150-696: The Basketball Arena and for the temporary parts of permanent venues such as the Olympic Stadium. In the Water Polo Arena, PVC roofing was made from recycled cushions to provide insulation. Through this recycling process, the Olympic Games PVC Policy was fulfilled; the policy states: According to Kirsten Henson, Materials Manager for the London 2012 Olympic Park: "The majority of temporary facilities created for
3255-432: The British participants in the rowing, sailing, and equestrian events, in which the host country won a number of medals, attended private schools. Moynihan called the numbers, "one of the worst statistics in British sport" and said that it was "wrong and unacceptable" that so many elite British athletes came from privileged backgrounds. Alan Bairner, professor of sport and social theory at Loughborough University , said that
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3360-399: The Games following an appeal. Ten other British athletes were unsuccessful with their appeals to be included. David Webb was initially chosen as part of the squad for the men's marathon but withdrew on 25 July due to injury. No replacement was selected. Paula Radcliffe was initially chosen as part of the squad for the women's marathon but withdrew on 29 July due to injury; Freya Murray
3465-761: The Games), westbound trains did not stop at Hackney Wick railway station , and Pudding Mill Lane DLR station closed entirely during the Games. TfL also built a £25 million cable car across the River Thames , called the Emirates Air Line , to link 2012 Olympics venues. It was inaugurated in June 2012 and crosses the Thames between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks , carrying up to 2,500 passengers an hour, cutting journey times between The O2 and
3570-459: The Games. The selection of Lynsey Sharp as the team's sole representative in the 800 m when there were three places available proved controversial. Sharp, who won the event at the GB Olympic trials, failed to achieve the 'A' qualifying standard. Under international rules, non 'A' standard competitors could only be selected if no other athletes that have met the standard were chosen. As
3675-428: The Games. Note that reserves for fencing, field hockey, football and handball are not counted as athletes: As the host nation, Britain automatically received the full allocation of six individual places, alongside entry to both the men's and women's team events. Former medalist Alison Williamson competed in her sixth consecutive Summer Olympics, becoming only the third British athlete to do so, but failed to move past
3780-582: The Games. Plans for the relay were developed in 2010–11, with the torch-bearer selection process announced on 18 May 2011. The torch was designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby . On 18 May 2012 the Olympic flame arrived at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall from Greece on flight BA2012, operated by a British Airways Airbus A319 named "Firefly". The relay lasted 70 days, with 66 evening celebrations and six island visits, and involved some 8,000 people carrying
3885-717: The Lexington building in Bow , announcing that a missile system was to be stationed on top of the water tower. This caused concern to some residents. The Ministry said it probably would use Starstreak missiles and that site evaluations had taken place, but that no final decision had taken place. Approximately 4,700 Olympic and Paralympic medals were produced by the Royal Mint at Llantrisant . They were designed by David Watkins (Olympics) and Lin Cheung (Paralympics). 99% of
3990-495: The Olympic Games for a third time. Team GB , organised by BOA, sent a total of 541 athletes, 279 men and 262 women, to the Games, and won automatic qualification places in all 26 sports. The government agency UK Sport targeted a total of 48 to 70 medals, with a commitment of at least a minimum amount, one more than the team won at the 2008 Summer Olympics , and a fourth-place finish in the medal table. On 7 August 2012, Great Britain had reached its 48-medal target, and surpassed
4095-532: The Olympic Games including the Aquatic centre temporary stands, basketball arena, Water Polo Arena, and the shooting facilities at the Royal 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
4200-624: The Olympic Stadium. Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle was artistic director and Rick Smith of Underworld was musical director. The opening ceremony was immediately seen as a tremendous success, widely praised as a "masterpiece" and "a love letter to Britain". The principal sections of the artistic display represented Britain's Industrial Revolution , National Health Service , literary heritage, popular music and culture , and were noted for their vibrant storytelling and use of music. The Games were officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II , accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh . This
4305-812: 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 the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy some 125 mi (201 km) southwest of London, which hosted the sailing events. The football tournament was staged at several grounds around the UK. Work began on the Park in December 2006, when
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4410-494: The Tickets For Troops scheme, as well as to survivors and families of those who died during the 7 July 2005 London bombings . 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. On 11 May 2012 a round of nearly one million "second chance" tickets went on sale over
4515-460: The Tour de France and an Olympic gold medal in the same year. On the track the men's sprint team of Chris Hoy , Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes set new world records in both the first round and again in the final against France as they won the gold medal. Hoy joined Steve Redgrave as the only British athletes to win five Olympic gold medals. A sixth gold medal in the men's Keirin brought Hoy past
4620-554: The United States became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, winning his 22nd medal. Saudi Arabia , Qatar and Brunei 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. Women's boxing was included for the first time, and the 2012 Games became the first at which every sport had female competitors. The Games received considerable praise for their organisation, with
4725-492: The announcement. 12 years later, Paris would later be chosen as the host of the 2024 games in 2017. The London 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. The committee, chaired by Lord Coe , was in charge of implementing and staging the Games, while the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), established in April 2006,
4830-411: The closing act. Broadcast live on BBC One , the ceremony attracted a peak viewing audience of over 27 million in the UK. The closing ceremony was held on 12 August. It featured a flashback fiesta to British music with The Who closing the performance. The ceremony also included a handover of the Olympic flag by Boris Johnson , Mayor of London , to Eduardo Paes , Mayor of Rio de Janeiro ,
4935-683: The expansion of the London Overground 's East London Line , upgrades to the Docklands Light Railway and the North London Line , and the introduction of a new " Javelin " high-speed rail service. According to Network Rail, an additional 4,000 train services operated during the Games, and train operators ran longer trains during the day. During the Games, Stratford International station was not served by any international services (just as it had not been before
5040-587: The figure of 13,500 armed forces personnel was greater than the number deployed at the time in Afghanistan. The Metropolitan Police and the Royal 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 Navy Lynx helicopter . The Ministry of Defence distributed leaflets to residents of
5145-502: The final selection was announced at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore . 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. The celebrations in London were short-lived, being overshadowed by bombings on London's transport system less than 24 hours after
5250-406: The fire to the 204 petals of the cauldron , representing the countries that participated in the Games. The cauldron was designed by Thomas 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. Renewable energy also featured at the Olympics. It
5355-437: The first British tennis player to claim an Olympic title since the sport was reintroduced as a full-medal discipline in 1988 ; he was also the only British athlete to win two medals in a single day. Double trap shooter Peter Wilson won the nation's first gold medal in his sport for 12 years. By winning two gold medals in London, track cyclist Chris Hoy emerged as Great Britain's most successful athlete in Olympic history with
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#17327810716135460-472: The first Olympic Games featuring the women's discipline. Britain qualified the maximum of one boat in all four classes, at the 2011 World Championships. Places were allocated in Team GB in a qualification event in April 2012. As stated above, Great Britain was entitled to one quota of two canoeists in the men's C-2 event; however, as the successful C-2 canoeists Florence and Hounslow had already qualified in
5565-445: The first female champion in Olympic boxing history as her sport made its debut at the Games. Having never won a medal in dressage in Olympic history, British riders dominated the event in 2012, winning 2 golds (both team and individual) and a bronze, Charlotte Dujardin becoming one of five British double gold medal winners. Great Britain was the first nation other than Germany to win the team event since 1980 . Andy Murray became
5670-461: The first round. Both the women's and men's teams failed to progress further than the round of 16 after losing to the Russian and Ukrainian teams respectively, while no individual archers made it past the round of 16. In Athletics, the British team did not receive any automatic places for representing the host nation, as they had done in other sports. A squad of 77 athletes was initially selected for
5775-530: The first time in Olympic history, the sailing events were ticketed. Eventually, more than 7,000,000 tickets were sold. 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. 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
5880-404: The gap observed by the initial evaluation in 2004. New York and Madrid also received very positive evaluations. 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." On 6 July 2005,
5985-552: The gold, silver and copper was donated by Rio Tinto from a mine in Salt Lake County, Utah in the U.S. The remaining 1% came from a Mongolian mine. 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. The obverse, as is traditional, features Nike , the Greek goddess of victory, stepping from
6090-464: The host city at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore on 6 July 2005, defeating bids from Moscow , New York City , Madrid , and Paris . London became the first city to host the modern Olympics three times, having previously hosted the Summer Games in 1908 and 1948 . Construction for the Games involved considerable redevelopment, with an emphasis on sustainability . The main focus
6195-428: The host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics . In his closing address, Jacques Rogge described the Games as "happy and glorious". Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics Great Britain and Northern Ireland , represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012 as the host nation and the team of selected athletes
6300-432: The hosts, saw Great Britain record their most successful day at the Olympics since the 1908 games. The day saw the team win 6 gold medals, starting in the rowing for Alex Gregory , Tom James , Pete Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge in the men's coxless four and Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking in the women's lightweight double sculls, followed in the cycling by Dani King , Joanna Rowsell Shand and Laura Trott in
6405-473: The individual events, a quota for a second boat in C-2 became available. The canoe sprint allocation for the host nation was one place in the men's K-1 1000 m, men's C-1 1000 m and women's K-1 500 m. Team GB was expected to earn a healthy number of British quota places. Great Britain selected 27 cyclists across the four cycling disciplines. Included in the squad was David Millar , who was cleared to compete after
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#17327810716136510-418: The logistics of spectators travelling to the events outside London. In particular, the sailing events at Portland had no direct motorway connections, and local roads are heavily congested by tourist traffic in the summer. However, a £77 million relief road connecting Weymouth to Dorchester was built and opened in 2011. Some £16 million was put aside for the rest of the improvements. TfL created
6615-680: The medal standings in cycling, wherein they won a total of 12 Olympic medals, including 8 golds, 7 from the 10 track cycling events alone, and in equestrianism, wherein they won 5 medals including 3 golds from 6 events. Great Britain also topped the medal table in triathlon, boxing and rowing. Twelve British athletes won more than a single Olympic medal in London. Among the nation's medalists were taekwondo jin Jade Jones , triathlete Alistair Brownlee , and slalom canoers Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie , who won Great Britain's first Olympic gold medals in their respective disciplines. Nicola Adams became
6720-429: The nation's first ever in women's rowing. Katherine Grainger , winning her first gold medal with Anna Watkins in the women's double sculls, became the first Great Britain female athlete to win four Olympic medals, and at four successive games (having previously won three silver medals). Swimmer Rebecca Adlington equalled the feat of four Olympic medals later on the same day. Sophie Hosking and Katherine Copeland , in
6825-508: The new chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) on 19 May 2004. In late August 2004, reports predicted a tie between London and Paris. 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
6930-492: 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-based bioplastics . After use, many of these materials were suitable for anaerobic digestion (AD), allowing them to be made into renewable energy. Post-Games, buildings like
7035-451: The original budget for the Games was increased to about £9.3 billion (US$ 15.28 billion) in 2007. The revised figures were announced to the House of Commons on 15 March 2007 by Tessa Jowell . Along with East End regeneration costs, the breakdown was: Unpaid volunteers known as Games Makers performed a variety of tasks before and during the Games. A target of 70,000 volunteers
7140-444: 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. The Olympic marathon course , which was set to finish in the Olympic stadium, was moved to The Mall, since closing Tower Bridge was deemed to cause traffic problems in central London. North Greenwich Arena 2
7245-491: The park. To make the best use of the space available, some back-of-house facilities, such as space for broadcasters, catering and security, were shared between the two venues. Construction on the temporary structure began in spring 2011. During the Olympics, the 5,000-seat arena hosted both the men's and women's water-polo competitions, and contained both a warm-up pool and a 37-metre (121-foot) competition pool . The first dedicated water-polo venue to be built for an Olympics,
7350-542: 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." The Olympic 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
7455-416: The qualification date, Team GB had qualified four places; a single player in each singles event, and a pair in the mixed doubles. Basketball was the only sport in which Great Britain were not guaranteed entry as hosts in 2012. In early 2011, FIBA granted the men's and women's teams automatic qualification. Until 2006, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland competed as separate teams. The following
7560-471: The record of Redgrave, and brought him equal with Wiggins on seven Olympic medals Great Britain qualified for a maximum five quota places in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of their top 10 national ranking in the 2011 UCI World Tour . They qualified a maximum 4 quota places in the women's event by virtue of a top 5 national ranking by the end of May 2012. The BOA announced the five man squad of road racers for Team GB on 4 July 2012. Qualification for
7665-405: The record of two golds and one bronze medal, previously held by Kelly Holmes , and briefly shared with Rebecca Adlington . For the first time in Olympic history, Great Britain had won a women's rowing gold; in the event, Great Britain secured three of the six gold medals in women's rowing. Heather Stanning and Helen Glover took the first Great Britain gold of the games in the women's pair, and
7770-404: 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. 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. The Olympics torch relay ran from 19 May to 27 July 2012, before
7875-522: The rippling PVC roof, were used to create the striking looking venue, as well as to improve insulation and prevent condensation. 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics , officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012 , were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London , England, United Kingdom. The first event,
7980-666: The security operation (named Operation Olympics by the Ministry of Defence), with 10,000 officers available, supported by 13,500 members of the British Armed Forces . Naval and air assets were deployed as part of the security operation, including ships situated in the Thames , Typhoon fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles; it was the biggest security operation Britain had faced in decades. The cost of security increased from £282 million to £553 million, and
8085-427: The structure was taken down after the games. Elements of the venue were expected to be reused or relocated elsewhere. Parts of the roofing covers and membranes of different temporary venues of the building were to be recycled via Vinyloop . This allowed the organizers to meet the standards of the Olympic Delivery Authority , concerning environmental protection. Through this recycling process, the Olympic Games PVC Policy
8190-401: The ten events to be held in the Olympic velodrome was entirely dependent on UCI rankings. Entry was limited to one rider, or as the case may be one team, per nation, a rule widely viewed as an attempt to reduce the dominance of the Great Britain team from the 2008 Games where they had taken gold and silver in three events (men's sprint, men's keirin and women's pursuit), and gold and bronze in
8295-793: The torch about 8,000 mi (12,875 km), starting from Land's End in Cornwall. The torch had three days outside the United Kingdom when it visited the Isle of Man on 2 June, Dublin in Ireland, on 6 June, and both Guernsey and Jersey 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. Dumfries and Galloway
8400-580: The unfolding of the day's events as "a narrative of infectious success" and the greatest day of sport he had ever witnessed. With Team GB attempting to build on their previous successes in Beijing four years earlier, expectations prior to the London Olympics were very high with the additional advantage of competing with home support. UK Sport , the body responsible for distributing £300 million in Olympic and Paralympic sports, revealed on 4 July 2012
8505-406: The visits, and a report that a key member of the bid team, Guy Drut , would face charges over alleged corrupt party political finances. 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. Its position began to improve after the appointment of Lord Coe as
8610-403: The volunteers, the British military and public enthusiasm commended particularly highly. The Games were described as " happy and glorious ". The opening ceremony , directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle , received widespread acclaim. These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Belgian Jacques Rogge , who was succeeded by German Thomas Bach the next year. London
8715-423: The wider United Kingdom. The organisation was also responsible for the supervision of the £9.3 billion of public sector funding. In August 2011, security concerns arose surrounding the hosting of the Olympic Games in London, following the 2011 England riots . Some countries expressed safety concerns, despite the IOC's assurance that the riots would not affect the Games. The IOC's Coordination Commission for
8820-450: The women's events was held at the AIBA 2012 Women's World Championships only. On 16 May 2012, Natasha Jonas qualified in the 60 kg category, and Nicola Adams in the 51 kg category. As a result, the host quota place in women's boxing became void. On 18 May 2012 Savannah Marshall qualified in the 75 kg category, ensuring Great Britain is represented at all women's weights at
8925-399: The women's lightweight double sculls, completed the hat-trick as part of Super Saturday . Despite the unprecedented success, Great Britain performed much more poorly in the team sports, winning just a single medal when Great Britain captained by Katie Walsh won the bronze medal match against New Zealand 3–1 in the women's field hockey tournament to win the first medal of any colour by
9030-437: The women's team pursuit. This was followed by three athletics gold medals in the space of 46 minutes, with Jessica Ennis winning gold in the women's heptathlon, Greg Rutherford in the men's long jump and Mo Farah in the men's 10,000 metres. Completing the medal total on the day in the rowing was a silver for Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase in the men's lightweight double sculls. Lord Coe , organiser of London 2012, described
9135-559: The world championships were; Andrew Selby , Luke Campbell , Tom Stalker , Fred Evans and Anthony Joshua . Following the World Championships Andrew Selby and Khalid Yafai had both attained the qualification standard for the Olympics in the flyweight division. NOCs may only nominate one boxer per event, and since both had reached the quarter finals of the World Championships, a box off
9240-453: Was $ 1.4 million. 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 to The Wall Street Journal ,
9345-516: Was a new 200-hectare (490-acre) Olympic Park , constructed on a former industrial site in Stratford, East London . The Games also used venues that already existed before the bid. The United States topped the medal table , winning the most gold medals (48) and the highest number of medals overall (104). China finished second with a total of 91 medals (38 gold) and Great Britain came third with 65 medals overall (29 gold). Michael Phelps of
9450-449: Was also produced. The following British competitors won medals at the Games. In the 'by discipline' sections below, medallists' names are in bold . The following Team GB competitors won several medals at the 2012 Olympic Games. Day 8 (4 August) of the Games, which had been billed in the build up to the Games in the host country as "Super Saturday" due to the expected programme creating numerous strong medal possibilities for
9555-533: Was called up as her replacement. Welshman Dai Greene was selected to captain the athletics squad, reprising a role he had first served at the 2011 European Team Championships in Sweden. In the Games, Great Britain had their best track and field performance since the Moscow Games in 1980, with 4 gold medals including a double gold for Mo Farah over the 5,000 and 10,000 metres. Pre-event favourites Farah in
9660-415: Was chosen over Birmingham to represent Great Britain 's bid by the British Olympic Association . By 15 July 2003—the deadline for interested cities to submit bids to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)—nine cities had submitted bids to host the 2012 Summer Olympics: Havana , Istanbul , Leipzig , London, Madrid , Moscow , New York City , Paris , and Rio de Janeiro . On 18 May 2004, as
9765-691: Was followed by a section highlighting London, One month later, the Olympic and Paralympic flags were raised outside the London City Hall . A countdown clock in Trafalgar Square was unveiled, 500 days before the Games. 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 in Olympia, Greece . The police led
9870-467: Was in charge of construction of the venues and infrastructure. The Government Olympic Executive (GOE), a unit within the Department 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 the London 2012 Olympic Legacy before and after the Games that would benefit London and
9975-465: Was in dispute with London and Continental Railways about the orders in November 2005. By May 2006, 86% of the land had been bought as businesses fought eviction. 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. There were some issues with
10080-532: Was officially known as Team GB . British athletes have competed at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, alongside Australia, France and Greece, though Great Britain is the only one to have won at least one gold medal at all of them. London was the first city to host the Summer Olympics on three different occasions, having previously done so in 1908 and 1948 . It was joined by Paris in 2024 and will be joined by Los Angeles in 2028 in hosting
10185-485: 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. Proposals to meet the original target included large-scale on-site wind turbines and hydroelectric generators in the River Thames, but these plans were scrapped for safety reasons. The focus subsequently moved to installing solar panels on some buildings, and providing
10290-521: 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
10395-493: Was required. The box off took place at the York Hall during the 2011 British Championships in November. Selby won the first bout, following which Yafai failed to make the weight for the second bout by 300 grams , meaning that Selby would represent Great Britain at the Olympics. In the subsequent AIBA European Qualification Tournament, two further boxers, Josh Taylor and Anthony Ogogo , also qualified. Qualification for
10500-498: Was scrapped in a cost-cutting exercise, Wembley Arena being used for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events instead. Test events were held throughout 2011 and 2012, either through an existing championship such as 2012 Wimbledon Championships or as a specially created event held under the banner of London Prepares . Team GB House was the British Olympic Association's operational HQ up to and during
10605-522: Was set as early as 2004. When recruitment took place in 2010, more than 240,000 applications were received. 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". The volunteers wore clothing that included purple and red polo shirts and jackets, beige trousers, grey socks and grey-and-white trainers , which they collected from
10710-576: Was struck down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in April 2012, allowing the participation of Dwain Chambers , David Millar and Carl Myerscough . British Olympic Association chief Colin Moynihan, 4th Baron Moynihan condemned the disproportionate number of British Olympic competitors who had attended expensive, elite private schools. Twenty per cent of all British Olympic competitors and 33% of
10815-471: 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 were Callum Airlie , Jordan Duckitt , Desiree Henry , Katie Kirk , Cameron MacRitchie , Aidan Reynolds, and Adelle Tracey . Together the torchbearers each lit a petal that spread
10920-786: Was the second Olympic Games opened personally by the Queen, the first being in 1976 in Montreal , Canada. The ceremony featured a short comic film starring Daniel Craig as secret agent James Bond and the Queen as herself. There was also a musical comedy item starring Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean playing along with the London Symphony Orchestra . These were widely ascribed to Britain's sense of humour . Live musical performers included Frank Turner , Dame Evelyn Glennie , Mike Oldfield , Dizzee Rascal , Arctic Monkeys , and Sir Paul McCartney who performed " Hey Jude " as
11025-427: Was to be fulfilled, which stated that where London 2012 procured PVC for temporary usage or where permanent usage was not assured, London 2012 was required to ensure that there was a take-back scheme that offered a closed loop reuse system or mechanical recycling system for post-consumer waste . London 2012 were the first Olympic Games whose guidelines included the recycling of PVC. Recycled cushions, which form part of
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