London has been awarded the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Summer games beating the Paris bid into 2nd place. Other potential candidates for the rights to host the games were Madrid, New York and Moscow.

The decision was made in Singapore as IOC members voted on who they felt should win the rights after evaluating all of the nation’s presentations. Moscow's bid was eliminated after the first round of voting. New York was the next nation to be eliminated followed by Madrid. It then came down to two cities, London and Paris. Paris had been the long time favourites to win the games. The final round of voting saw Paris having 50 votes, while London achieved 54, and therefore won the rights to win the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for the first time since 1948.

How the voting went:

First round:

London 22
Paris 21
Madrid 20
New York 19
Moscow 15 (eliminated)

Second round:

Madrid 32
London 27
Paris 25
New York 16 (eliminated)

Third round:

London 39
Paris 33
Madrid 31 (eliminated)

Fourth round:

London 54
Paris 50 (eliminated)

The main venues for the games will be built in East London which will benefit from major regeneration of land. British Sport in general is expected to have a massive boost with the announcement of the Olympic win as it is thought that it will receive more funding in the run up to the games.

What the Olympic Park is expected to look like in Stratford.

A link to the London 2012 website can be found in the links section.