This August 24th marks the start of the Games of the 2012 Olympiad in London. Here are some interesting facts you may not have known:
1. This year will be London’s third time hosting the Olympics. The other games were hosted in 1908 and 1948.
2. 4 billion people around the world are expected to watch the opening ceremony – that’s double the viewers of the Beijing opening ceremony in 2008, and more than half of the world’s population!
3. Europe’s largest (in square meters) urban shopping mall was built last year, right next to the Olympic Park.
4. 85% of the world’s countries are estimated to participate – that’s 204 nations!
5. London beat Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris in the bid for the Olympics. Cheers London!
6. YouTube will be streaming highlights of the Games for countries all over the world to see.
7. London’s stadium is the lightest Olympic stadium (in weight) ever built, and holds about 80,000 people.
8. There will be 26 Olympics sports, 39 disciplines and 300 events. That’s a whole lot of sports!
9. 4,700 medals will be made for the games, with Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, on one side and the Games logo on the other.
10. The opening ceremony will be called the ‘Isles of Wonder’…I wonder if it will be better than the Beijing ceremony?
Interested in studying in London this summer? Hurry up and join our London Covent Garden or Leicester Square schools. Course availability is booking up quick and flight prices are rising, so contact us now.
Our guest contributor, Reina,
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