London Olympics 2012

As the world keenly awaits, London is ready to host one of the greatest shows on earth.. London Olympics 2012 is scheduled to take place from 27 July to 12 August 2012. 

The city is the first to get the honour to host the Olympic games thrice, now and earlier in 1908 and 1948. The games with the official motto "Inspire a generation" will be inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburg at 9 p.m. GMT on 27th. July at the Olympic Stadium located in the heart of the Olympic park on an ‘island’ site, surrounded by waterways on three sides. Spectators can reach the venue via five bridges that link the site to the surrounding area.

The torch relay which started on 19th May featuring 8000 people and covering 8000 miles will end on 27 July 2012. The locations involved in this relay are mainly focused on the national heritage sites with some sporting importance. The Torch's triangular, gold-coloured form is perforated by 8,000 circles representing the 8,000 Torchbearers and their stories of personal achievement or contribution to their local community. 

The opening ceremony of the London Olympics named as 'Isles of Wonder', is expected to be a spectacular celebration.. Lead by the eminent artistic director Danny Boyle, whose film “Slumdog Millionaire” won eight Oscars, the show is designed to transform the stadium into a rural British idyll, complete with cows, sheep and even synthetic clouds to provide traditional British rain. The stadium is expected to be packed with 80,000 spectators, 16,000 athletes and 10,000 performers. For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the music of the London 2012 Olympic games opening and closing ceremonies will be released digitally immediately after each ceremony ends.

Regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition, the Olympic Games is expecting more than 200 nations to participate this year. Twenty brand-new venues await the 2012 Summer Olympic athletes. The Olympic and Paralympic Games will use a mixture of new venues and majority of the venues has been divided as three zones, Greater London: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone. The main venue Olympic Park, which covers  2.5 square kilometres was once industrial land and has been rapidly transformed over the last few years into green space that both visitors to the Games and local residents can enjoy. A wide range of imaginative and inspiring art and culture installations can be seen across the Olympic Park.

Designed by Wolff Olins, it is for the first time that the same logo is going to be used for both Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Standard colours of the logo are green, magenta, orange and blue. The Logo used for the handover ceremony is depicted with the union flag. The abstract design of the Olympic logo has come under much criticism from the public, but the International Olympic committee (IOC) has maintained that it is a bold emblem representing the year 2012 and that the colours are meant to convey an energetic and youthful tone.  

The official Mascot of the 2012 Olympics, Wenlock and Mendeville , unveiled on 19th May 2010, are animations depicting two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton. These Mascots are named after the village of Much Wenlock in Shropshire - which hosted a precursor to the modern Olympic Games in the 19th century. Mandeville is named after Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, UK, where the first Paralympic Games were held, in 1948. Both represent UK's start of the Industrial Revolution.

London 2012 Olympic medals are designed by British artist David Watkins. The Olympic medal disk's circular form is a metaphor for the world. The face of the medal as always depict the same imagery of the summer Games - the Greek Goddess of Sport - 'Nike' - stepping out of the depiction of the Parthenon and arriving in London.

The closing ceremony to be held on 12th August 2012 at the Olympic Stadium, besides the colourful adieu will feature the handover by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, to Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, which is the next venue of 2016 summer Olympics.