London Upsets Paris to Win 2012 Olympics

[Bond]

SINGAPORE - London edged out Paris in the hotly contested race to host the 2012 Olympics. The British capital, which last had the games in 1948 while continental Europe was rebuilding in the aftermath of World War II, upset Paris 54-50 on the fourth ballot Wednesday.

Moscow, New York and Madrid were knocked out in the first three rounds of the International Olympic Committee vote.

"This is our moment," said London bid leader Sebastian Coe, a former Olympic middle-distance champion. "It's massive. It's huge. This is the biggest prize in sport."

It was also a victory laced with political significance, with Prime Minister
Tony Blair getting the better of French
President Jacques Chirac. Both leaders came to Singapore to lobby for the bids before flying to the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

"Many people do reckon that London is the greatest city in the whole world at the moment," an exultant Blair said after hearing the result. "I couldn't bear to watch the final bit of it. It's not often in this job that you punch the air and do a little jig and embrace the person next to you."

London, which also held the games in 1908, becomes the first three-time Olympic host city.

Source: Yahoo News

Take that Paris, you bitch, right down the throat!