An Overview Of The Olympics 2012 As The Countdown Begins
In 776 B.C., the early Greeks began conducting a sporting competition every four years in the town of Olympia. The sporting event attracted numerous athletes from all over Greece to compete in games such as running, javelin and discus throwing, boxing, wrestling, and chariot racing. That time, only men were allowed to join and compete, while women were not even allowed to go and watch. The games, which became popularly known as the Olympic Games, were held only until 393 A.D., after which they were abolished by the Roman Emperor Theodore I the Great. The ancient Olympic Games lasted for a total of 1170 years.
The Olympic Games have changed a lot since its revival in the mid-nineteenth century. Today, the modern version involves two competitions – the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics. The Summer Olympics is generally a much bigger event, and includes sports competitions such as athletics, swimming, diving, wrestling, boxing, cycling, sailing, rowing, football, basketball, hockey, tennis, weightlifting, equestrian, gymnastics, shooting, gymnastics, and many more. It occurs every four years. The Winter Olympics, on the other hand, is a smaller competition and includes events such as skiing, ski jumping, figure skating, speed skating, ice hockey, bob sleigh, and curling, among others. Just like its Summer counterpart, the Winter Olympics also occurs every four years (but separated from the Summer Olympics by two years).
This year, the Olympic Games will be held in London, United Kingdom from July 27 to August 12. Officially known as “The Games of the XXX Olympiad”, the Olympics 2012 will be participated by approximately 10, 500 athletes from 204 countries. The participants will compete in 302 events that cover 26 kinds of sports.
London was chosen to stage the Olympics 2012 after defeating New York, Madrid, Paris and Moscow during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore on July 6, 2005. London was also the host city in 1908 and 1948, making this year their third time to host the event. The motto of Olympics 2012 is "Inspire a Generation".
Thousands of athletes will march into the Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony. Each will carry their national flags during the “Parade of Nations”. The flag bearers of all countries then form one big circle, where one athlete and one judge speak the Olympic Oath. Here, they declare that they will compete and judge according to the rules of the games. The host country will then present some artistic displays of music, dance, and culture before the Olympic Torch is brought into the stadium by one athlete and passed to another athlete (who is usually a popular athlete from the host nation) who lights the Olympic cauldron.
During the Closing Ceremony, athletes will enter the stadium and three national flags will be lifted on flagpoles one at a time, accompanied by their respective national anthems. To honor the birth place of the Olympic Games, the flag of Greece will be hoisted on the middle pole. The flag of the host country (UK), on the other hand, will be lifted on the left pole. And finally, the flag of the country hosting the next Olympics (Russia) will be hoisted on the right pole. The Closing Ceremony of the Olympics 2012 will take place on August 12.
Thousands of people from all over the world are expected to visit London for the Olympics 2012. Over 500,000 spectators are expected to attend, or even more. It has been reported that over 9,000,000 seating tickets have already been sold, with prices ranging from $30 for standard seats at regular events to around $3,000 for the best seats at the July 27 Opening Ceremony.
The Olympics 2012 is expected to be a really huge event in London, with thousands of athletes representing their countries as competitors in numerous sports. International media commentators and reporters will surely bring the Games to the rest of the world through TV, newspapers, and the World Wide Web. Hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to come from all over the world to watch the Games and cheer for their country's athletes. The Olympic Games will surely be watched by billions all over the world, making it one of the few events shared and followed by all nations, and one of the few events that bring people together like one huge family.
