Where were the 2012 Olympics?

Where were the 2012 Olympics?

The 2012 Summer Olympics were held in London, England, and ran from July 27 through August 12, 2012. The Games were officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II and ended up being the most-watched television program in history. Overall, there were 306 events total over 26 sports, and for the most part, the Games were a smashing success.

London got to host the games by beating out four other nations during the bidding process. Their real competition came from Paris, France, who missed out on hosting the Olympics by a score of 54-50. Other bidders were Madrid, Spain, New York City, USA, and Moscow, Russia. Only Paris and London made it to the fourth round of bidding.

The United States earned the most medals in the Games, taking home 103. In total, they won 46 gold medals, as they finished in front of China (88), and Great Britain (65).

London also hosted the 2012 Summer Paralympics, which were the fourteenth Summer Paralympic Games. The Summer Olympics and Summer Paralympics run during the same years, with the Winter Games happening the second year after the Summer Games. It is a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities. The Summer Paralympics Games took place from August 29 through September 9.

China collected the most medals during the Paralympics, picking up 231 of the 1522 medals awarded. Russia (102, 36 gold), and Great Britain (120, 34 gold) finished second and third.

The 2016 Summer Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro, and will run from August 5 through August 21. The 2016 Paralympics will be held from September 7, 2016, through September 18, 2016.

Rio won the right to host the Olympics by beating out Chicago, Illinois, Madrid, Spain, and Tokyo, Japan.

For more Olympics news, check out our hub page.