In 2005, the International Olympic Committee decided that London will serve as the host city for the Games of the XXX Olympiad, the Summer Olympic Games of 2012, defeating proposals from Moscow, New York City, Madrid and Paris after four rounds of voting. The successful bid, which focused on sustainability and reuse, was headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe. This will make London the first city to hold the modern Olympic Games three times, having hosted the games previously in 1908 and 1948. The Olympic win prompted a redevelopment of many of the areas of London in which the games are to be held (the vast majority of events will be held in a regenerated area in East London), while the budgetary considerations have generated some criticism.
The Olympic Velodrome
The 2012 Olympic Games will use 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. In the wake of the problems that plagued the Millennium Dome, the organisers' intention is that there will be no problems after the Games and instead that a "2012 legacy" will be delivered. Some of the new facilities will be reused in their Olympic form, while others, including the 80,000 seat main stadium, will be reduced in size or relocated elsewhere in the UK. The plans are part of the regeneration of Stratford in east London which will be the site of the Olympic Park, and of the neighbouring Lower Lea Valley.
Boundary of the Olympic Zone
The Olympic Zone will encompass all of the facilities within the 500 acre Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. This park is being developed on existing waste and industrial land and will be an estimated seven minutes by the new Olympic Javelin train from central London. This new development in Eastern London has required the compulsory purchase of some business properties, which are being demolished to make way for Olympic venues and infrastructure improvements. This has caused some controversy, with some of the affected proprietors claiming that the compensation offered is inadequate. In addition, concerns about the development's potential impact on the future of the century-old Manor Garden Allotments have inspired a community campaign, and the demolition of the Clays Lane housing estate was opposed by tenants, as is that of Carpenters Estate.
The Olympic Stadium
As many are unaware, the costs of hosting the Games are separate from those for building the venues and infrastructure, and redeveloping the land for the Olympic Park. While the Games are privately funded, the venues and Park costs are met largely by public money. In Spring of 2007, the government announced to thea budget of £5.3 billion ($8.7 billion) to cover building the venues and infrastructure for the Games. On top of this, various other costs including an overall additional contingency fund of £2.7 billion, security and policing costs of £600 million, VAT of £800 million and elite sport and Paralympic funding of nearly £400 million. According to these figures, the total for the Games and the regeneration of the East London area, is £9.345 billion ($15.3 billion). The costs for staging the Games are funded from the private sector by a combination of sponsorship, merchandising, ticketing and broadcast rights. This budget is raised and managed by the London 2012 Organising Committee. According to Games organisers.
Olympic marketing in full effect