Fun Trivia : 2012 London

Structure Sub-topic of: Summer Games Quizzes Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 10 general entries.

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

2012 London

The British Olympic Association (BOA) was the team responsible for the bidding process for London 2012. The Association is mainly made up of ex-Olympic athletes from numerous sports. It was no surprise that the bid chairperson was a major British sporting hero. Who were they?

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The Rt. Hon. The Lord Coe KBE. The Rt. Hon. The Lord Coe KBE, better known as Seb Coe is a double Olympic champion in the 1500m in 1980 and 1984 respectively. He later went on into politics, becoming a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1992 as a Conservative.



The London Olympic stadium, unveiled on 7th November 2007, had received mixed reviews. Its economic design was welcomed by environmentalists. However opinion was divided over how architecturally unique the design was, having a 'bowl' design. It is the centrepiece of the Olympic park, but where is that located in London?

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Stratford. Stratford, before the games were selected to be held there, was believed to be one of the most deprived areas of the city. The regeneration of the area was incorporated into the budget.



Subsequent to London's successful bid for the 2012 games, two sports were removed from the Olympic programme, baseball and softball. These sports were originally planned to be played in temporary stadia in one of London's royal parks. Which one was is?

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The Regents Park. Theories suggest that softball and baseball were removed from the games based on the American dominance in the sport, however this is speculation. Regents Park is to be used for the road race in cycling.



At the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Games, London was given an 8-minute slot to showcase the city as part of the handover ceremony. At the end of this ceremony, Beijing's Mayor, Guo Jinlong, handed the Olympic flag to which British figure?

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Boris Johnson - The Mayor of London. Boris Johnson was an infamous figure in British politics, often being portrayed as the butt of many jokes. He caused a mini-outrage at the ceremony when he refused to tuck in his shirt and button up his suit jacket.



As well as winning the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, London also won the right to host the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games. These were scheduled to take place 2 weeks after the closing ceremony of the Summer Games. What will be allowed in the 2012 Paralympic Games for the first time since the Sydney games in 2000?

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Athletes with intellectual disabilities. Following a decision in 2008, athletes with intellectual disabilities were allowed to compete in 2012. The original suspension of categories of sports with athletes with intellectual disabilities was due to the 2000 Spanish basketball team who entered a team with no disabilities of any kind. However, the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) has said they will closely monitor the athletes in these categories.



The Aquatics centre in the Olympic Park is said to be the architectural highlight of the games. It is described as having a Whale or Wave shape, fitting in with its role as the home of the aquatic events. The design had to be downsized for budget requirements, but who designed the venue?

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Zaha Hadid. Zaha Hadid has designed many architecturally stunning buildings such as the Bridge Pavilion in Zaragoza, and the BMW central building in Leipzig, Germany. The others have been involved in Olympic designs in the past. Herzog and de Meuron designed the Beijing Bird's Nest national stadium. PTW Architects designed the National aquatics centre for the Beijing games, and Santiago Calatrava designed the roof for the refurbishment of the Olympic stadium in Athens for the games of 2004.



During the bidding process, London promised a lasting legacy of Sport in the United Kingdom. This involved leaving the Olympic park as a national institute of sports for the country, and the designs of the stadia have been made so as they can be downsized after the games. This would prevent any 'white elephant' problems from occurring. The Olympic stadium was designed so that it can hold 80,000 during the games, reducing the capacity to 25,000 after the games. Who or what has not been linked as possible tenants for the venue after the games, according to the British Olympic Association?

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O2. Leyton Orient Football Club, West Ham United, and Saracens Rugby Football club have all expressed and interest in becoming post-Olympic tenants. However it was thought that this was not possible at first as it was thought that there must be an Athletics legacy. However in November 2008, Jacques Roggues, the chairman of the IOC, stated that any sport was better than no sport at all. O2 were tenants of the O2 arena, a major sports and entertainments venue which was previously called the Millennium Dome.