The countdown to the London 2012 Olympic Games has begun.
Games organisers have just 99 days to prepare for one of the biggest international sporting events of the year. The official Olympic motto is “Inspire a generation”.
As London adds the final touches before the opening ceremony on 27 July, we look back on some of the previous Olympic Games to get an idea of what London has to live up to:
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The Olympic Games have travelled a long way since they began more than 2,700 years ago in Olympia. Greece is the official home land of the Olympics, which were held every four years in Ancient Greece to honour the gods. Over millennia, the event has transformed into a celebration of the finest sportsmen and women.
China
China hosted the Olympic Games in 2008. China wowed the world with awesome opening and closing ceremonies, which featured drums, fireworks and silver bell dancers. The fusion of ancient and modern, writ large in Beijing’s National Stadium, celebrated the city’s 1,000-year history.
During the event, more than 130 Olympic records and 40 world records were smashed. British-born swimmer Rebecca Adlington broke the world record for the women’s 800-metre race, shaving two seconds off the previous record which had been held for almost 20 years.
Australia
The 2000 Sydney Olympic Games was a games of firsts, with Triathlon and taekwondo added to the programme for the first time. This was also the year when blood tests to detect Erythropoietin (EPO) were introduced and women were permitted to take part in the modern pentathlon.
(Images: thehutch, needoptic, shizhao, David Shapinsky)
