Four billion people were expected to watch the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics from London.  This fact and a lot of others were found on LondonOutLoud.co.uk.  It seems like the Olympics get bigger every year, as some of the facts below bear out.

Five boroughs (like our cities) hosted all the different events: Newham, Hackney, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich.

This year was the 60th anniversary of the Paralympic Games, where those with disabilities compete in various events.  People in London were expected to give (contribute) $982 million to the Olympics and Paralympics.

Predictions were for a need for 2.8 million construction workers in 2011 to start building Olympic venues.

How much are the Olympics expected to make for the British economy?  More than $15 billion.

East London may have as many as five million new homes that were built in connection with the Olympics.

More than 200 buildings were demolished at the Olympic park site.

 

Gold medal count:

United States: 48

China: 38

Great Britain: 29

Russia: 24

Korea: 13

Germany: 11

France: 11

Italy: 8

Hungary: 8

Australia: 7

Japan: 7

Kazakhstan: 7

Netherlands: 6

Ukraine: 6

New Zealand: 6

Cuba: 5

Four tied with 4

Five tied with 3

Ten tied with 2

Eighteen tied with 1

We’re not surprised the U.S. took the lead in gold medals and in overall medals.  We have great training programs and amazing athletes.  And we’re not surprised London did such a great job hosting the Games.  We can’t wait till 2016.

Go USA!  We’re proud of our Olympic athletes!

Nick & Ellie