Third Time's the Charm
The 2012 Summer Olympics is the third Olympics London has hosted. The 1908 and 1948 games were very different however. London only had a few months to prepare for the 1908 Olympics after a volcano erupted in Italy, the original host country. Only 22 different sports (including tug-of-war) were competed in, and only 22 countries were represented. Great Britain won the medal count with the US coming in second. London was selected to host the Olympics for the second time in 1944, but the games were pushed back to 1948 due to World War II. London was still under food rations and economic hardship after the war, so no new venues were built, and athletes were house in existing buildings. The 1948 games were the first to be broadcasted on home television sets, and BBC paid 1000 pounds for broadcasting rights. Only 19 sports were included, but 59 countries participated. Germany and Japan were excluded for their participation in World War II, and Russia was invited but did not send any athletes. The US came in first in the medal count, and GB came in 12th. The 2012 Olympics focused on sustainability and redevelopment of parts of London. The games were substantially larger that the previous London games, and is the largest international competition London has hosted. The bid was announced in the summer of 2005, giving London seven years to prepare with a huge budget of 9.3 billion pounds. 26 sports were included, with women's boxing debuting and mixed doubles tennis returning for the first time since 1924. 204 countries participated, and one athlete participated under the Olympic flag as an independent. The 2012 London Olympics is considered to be a very successful event.