Olympic Sports

Summer Olympics is a very significant international event showcasing various exhilarating sports, in which thousands of athletes participate enthusiastically in an array of competitions. The Olympic Games have become very popular with time and is considered foremost sports event bringing together various countries from the five continents. The Games are presently held every four years. Surprisingly, the ancient Olympic Games are as old as 8th century BC to the 4th century AD and were held in Olympia, Greece. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the father of modern Olympics established the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. IOC is a decision making authority and is responsible for selecting the host city for every Olympic game. Further, the host city has the onus of arranging and funding the Olympic Games adhering to the rules and regulations of the Olympic Charter. The Olympic Games provide a gateway for the host city and its country to represent itself to the world at large.

London Olympics 2012
The London Olympics 2012, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad, is going to occur in London, England, United Kingdom and is scheduled from 27 July to 12 August 2012. London has the pride to become the first city in the world to host the modern Olympic Games the third time, first being in 1908 and then in 1948.

Venues
People from all over the world are all set to visit the new 200-hectare Olympic Park, which is constructed on an earlier industrial site at Stratford in the eastern part of London. The Games will also be held at other existing venues, which are refurbished to make them adequate for the sports. Thus, London Olympics and Paralympic Games 2012 will be seen using a gamut of venues both new and existing ones, including the historic and some temporary facilities. Some of these venues will be continued to be used for sports and some for other community activities after the games are over. Most of the sports will be held in three broadly categorized venues within Greater London such as the Olympic Zone, the Central Zone and the River Zone. And a few venues are outside the region of Greater London such as the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on the Isle of Portland in Dorset to showcase the sailing events. Even the football events will be held at various grounds around the UK.

The Statistics
At London Olympics 2012, it is anticipated that athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will be participating. This Olympic Games will display 26 sports and a total of 39 disciplines. The London 2012 Paralympic Games will be featuring 20 sports and 21 disciplines. For the first time in Olympics, women's boxing is included at London Olympics 2012, including 40 athletes participating in five different weight classes.