2012 Olympic Timeline

02 Nov 2002 - 20 June 2003

02 Nov 2002 - United States Olympic Committee elects New York as its 2012 candidate.

11 Dec 2002 – Britain rumoured to be uninterested in 2012. Chris Smith (then Culture Secretary) describes the IOC as inherently corrupt.

21 Jan 2003 - Spanish Olympic Committee elects Madrid as its 2012 candidate.

24 Feb 2003 – British Cabinet delays decision on Olympic bid until after the war in Iraq.

27 Feb 2003 - French officials meet to decide Paris' intentions for 2012.

12 Apr 2003 - German Olympic Committee makes Leipzig its 2012 candidate.

15 May 2003 – Tessa Jowell announces that the government has set aside £2.375 billion to pay for the staging of the 2012 Games in London. Business, the LDA and the government will meet the cost of the bid.

21 May 2003 - Paris 2012, the multicoloured Olympics, launched with Bertrand Delanoe and Zinedine Zidane.

23 May 2003 - Moscow 2012 formally launched by Mayor Yury Luzhkov.

20 June 2003 - Barbara Cassani, former chief executive of low-cost airline, Go, will lead London's bid.

7 Jul 2003 - August 2008

7 Jul 2003 - Brazil Olympic Committee elects 2012 candidate, Rio De Janeiro.

15 July 2003 – The competing countries handed in their first formal bids to the IOC.

15 January 2004 – The British Olympic Association submitted its full bid proposal to the IOC.

19 May 2004 – Barbara Cassani steps down from her job as chairperson of the London 2012 bid. Her deputy, Lord Coe, takes her place.

31 May 2004 – The IOC rejected Rio de Janeiro, Leipzig, Istanbul and Havana. London, along with Paris, New York, Madrid and Moscow, makes it through to the final shortlist.

August 2004 - Athens summer Olympic Games in which British Olympians, notably double gold medal winner Kelly Holmes, proove that British Athletics is strong.

18 September 2004 - Britain's proud Olympians take a victory tour of London to display their new medals and to show there support for the London 2012 bid. They are greeted by enthusiastic crowds who lined the routes to cheer their new heroes.

15 November 2004 – The final formal bid was handed in to the IOC by Lord Coe and the London 2012 committee.

Christmas 2004– It is announced that 250 000 people have signed up to show their support for the bid either on the internet, by text and in person.

New Year's Eve 2004– To promote the bid to Londoners, the Mayor's NYE firework display is used to support the bid. It sees the London Eye, one of the city's most prominant landmarks, lit up like a Catherine Wheel with Olympic colours.

3-6 February 2005 - Madrid is the first city left in contention to play host to the IOC's Evaluation Commission.

16-19 February 2005 - Seb Coe and the Olympic team show the IOC evaluation committee around the capital's sporting facilities and even take them on the tube.

21-24 February 2005 - IOC evaluation committee visits New York.

9-12 March 2005 - IOC evaluation committee visits Paris, London's main rival.

14-17 March 2005 - The IOC evaluation committee complete their tour of the proposed venues in the Russian capital.

23 April 2005 - The London bid team are forced to remove an incentives package including free flights for athletes and financial aid for Olympic teams after claims that it contravenes bidding regulations.

6 June 2005 - Following visits to the contending cities in February and March, the IOC evaluation committee confirm that London and Paris lead the pack, with Madrid and New York still in the running. After severe criticism Moscow is out of the race.

4 July 2005 - Prime Minister Tony Blair meets with IOC members in Singapore two days before the final decision is made.

5 July 2005 - The Olympic bid team unleash their trump card at the eleventh hour in Singapore; David Beckham is paraded in front of the world's media.

6 July 2005 - Despite Jacques Chirac's attempts to shift the balance, the IOC decides in London's favour. There are scenes of jubilation across the capital focused in Trafalgar Square.

August 2008 - Beijing summer Olympic Games