The envelope, the white, the A4, the sealed, the held by the Jacques Rogge (the IOC President) at the 117th IOC Session in the Raffles City Convention Centre in the Singapore on the 6th July 2005. The world watched as he opened it: “The International Olympic Committee has the honour of announcing that the Games of the 30th Olympiad in 2012 are awarded to the city of… London.” The Trafalgar Square erupted, the 30,000 people, the live screen, the Union Jacks, and the 7-year journey to the greatest Olympics in modern history began. The 2012 Games were the third time London had hosted (1908, 1948, 2012, the only city to host three times), and the Games delivered the regeneration of the East London, the £9.3 billion investment, the 3 million tickets sold, and the 29 gold medals for Team GB. Here are the five fantastic reasons to look forward to the Olympics coming to London, and what we got.

The Enduring Legacy of the London 2012 Olympics

More than a decade after the Olympic flame was extinguished, the legacy of London 2012 continues to shape the city. The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park attracts millions of visitors each year. The London Aquatics Centre remains open to the public. The regeneration of Stratford has transformed one of the poorest areas of London into a thriving hub. Employment in the area has increased significantly, and Olympic transport connections now serve millions of commuters daily.

How the Games Changed British Sport Forever

The London 2012 Olympics transformed British sport. Team GB finishing third in the medal standings inspired a generation of young athletes. National Lottery funding for elite athletes was maintained, ensuring continued success at subsequent Olympics. The Velodrome provides world-class training facilities open to the public. The psychological impact of Super Saturday, when Ennis-Hill, Rutherford, and Farah won gold within 46 minutes, created lasting belief in British sporting achievement.

Five Fantastic Reasons to Look Forward to the London Olympics

• 1, 3: The regeneration, the transport, and the sport: The East End regeneration (the most important legacy): the Olympic Park was built on the contaminated industrial wasteland in the Stratford, the 500 acres of the derelict land, the soil washed of the heavy metals, the 2.5 km of the River Lea restored, the 4,000 trees planted, the 300,000 wetland plants, and the transformation of the poorest part of London into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the 560 acres of the public park, the world-class sporting venues, the 30,000 new homes (the East Village, the former Athletes Village, the 2,818 homes, and the first legacy neighbourhood). The essential fact: the East London has seen the 30% increase in the employment in the area since the 2012, and the Olympic Park now hosts the 1.5 million visitors a year. The transport upgrade (the essential daily legacy): the Jubilee Line extension, the DLR upgrade, the Stratford International station, the “Javelin” high-speed shuttle from the St Pancras to the Stratford (the 7 minutes vs the 40 minutes before), the London Overground extension, and the transport network that moved the 500,000 spectators a day during the Games without the collapse. The essential fact: the Stratford is now the best-connected transport hub in the East London, and the commute to the central London is the 7 minutes. The sport, the 29 gold medals and the moments: the Super Saturday (the 4th August 2012, the Jessica Ennis-Hill in the heptathlon, the Greg Rutherford in the long jump, and the Mo Farah in the 10,000 metres in the space of the 46 minutes, the greatest single day in British sporting history), the Sir Chris Hoy (the 6th gold, the most decorated British Olympian at the time), the Nicola Adams (the first women’s Olympic boxing gold), and the 65 medals total, the third in the medal table behind the USA and the China, and the greatest British Olympic performance ever. More UK →
• 4, 5: The volunteers and the culture: The Games Makers (the 70,000 volunteers): the purple-and-red uniforms, the foam fingers, the relentless cheerfulness at the 5am at the Stratford entry gate, the “have a great Games!” that became the soundtrack of the London 2012, and the essential fact: the Games Makers were the most praised element of the London 2012 by the international media. The 70,000 volunteers were chosen from the 240,000 applicants, the 1 in the 3.4, and they set the template for every subsequent Olympics. The Cultural Olympiad and the festivals: the 12-week nationwide festival, the 177,000 participants, the 19.5 million attendances at the free events, the “Isles of Wonder” opening ceremony (the Danny Boyle, the £27 million, the 1 billion the global TV audience, and the ceremony that redefined the Olympic opening, the no more the military-parade-plus-doves, the now the storytelling), the BT London Live (the free the big screens in the Hyde Park and the Victoria Park for the 500,000 people over the course of the Games), and the essential cultural legacy: the East London has the ArcelorMittal Orbit (the UK’s tallest sculpture), the London Aquatics Centre (the Zaha Hadid), the Here East (the digital and the creative the hub in the former press centre), and the V&A East (the new museum opening in the 2025).