The 2012 Summer Olympics bids comprised bids by nine cities to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee shortlisted five of them — London, Madrid, Moscow, New York City, and Paris — and London eventually prevailed, becoming the first city to host the Olympic Games three times. The bidding process for the 2012 Olympics was considered one of the most hotly contested in the history of the IOC. Paris was seen as the front-runner for most of the campaign, but last-minute lobbying by London's supporters was one factor that led to the success of its bid. Madrid was regarded as one of the favourites, but the city did not receive enough votes to surpass Paris and London. After a technical evaluation of the nine original bids, the top five were shortlisted on May 18, 2004, becoming official candidates. The remaining applicant cities — Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig and Rio de Janeiro — were eliminated. On July 6, 2005, in a four-round voting of the IOC (gathered at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore), Moscow, New York City, and Madrid were eliminated in the first three rounds. By a margin of four votes over Paris, London won the final round and secured the right to host the 2012 Olympics. Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics_bids _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1415: Jan Hus, founder of the Christian Hussite reform movement, was burned at the stake for committing heresy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Hus) 1885: French chemist Louis Pasteur successfully tested his vaccine against rabies on nine-year-old Joseph Meister after he was bitten by an infected dog. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies) 1887: King Kalākaua of Hawai'i was forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, stripping the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority as well as disfranchising all Asians, most native Hawaiians, and the poor. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1887_Constitution_of_the_Kingdom_of_Hawaii) 1942: Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank) 1966: Hastings Banda became the first president of Malawi, exactly two years after the country was granted independence from the United Kingdom. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_Banda) _____________________ Wikiquote of the day: Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive. -- Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tenzin_Gyatso%2C_14th_Dalai_Lama)