OLYMPICS -2012-'The Isles of Wonder’

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad or "London 2012 Olympic Games",

•  are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012.

Following a bid headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe, London was selected as the host city on 6 July 2005 during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore,

•  defeating Moscow, New York City, Madrid and Paris.^[2]
• London will become the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times. having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948.

While budgetary considerations for the games have generated some criticism,^[7][8] they have also been welcomed by others as having prompted a redevelopment of many of the areas of London in which events are to be held – particularly themed towards sustainability.^.

 The main focus of the games will be a new 200 hectare Olympic Park, constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford in the east of London. The Games also make use of many venues which were already in place before the bid.

Mandeville (left) and Wenlock (right)

Wenlock and Mandeville

The official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled on 19 May 2010;

• ^] this marks the second time (after Vancouver) that both Olympic and Paralympic mascots were unveiled at the same time.
•  Wenlock and Mandeville are animations depicting two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton.
• ^] They are named Wenlock, after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock, which held a forerunner of the current Olympic Games, and
•  Mandeville, after Stoke Mandeville, a village in Buckinghamshire where a forerunner to the Paralympic Games were first held

The Opening ceremony of 2012 Summer Olympics will be called 'The Isles of Wonder’.

•  Oscar Winning director Danny Boyle will be the artistic director for the spectacular opening ceremony.
• It was confirmed in February 2012 that Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh will officially open the games at the opening ceremony,^[
• and a short film, starring Daniel Craig as secret agent James Bond, will be screened during the television coverage of the ceremony