London 2012 Olympics

A look at the buildup to the Summer Games, which kick off July 27 in London.

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July 6, 2005

Crowds in London's Trafalgar Square cheer the IOC's announcement of the 2012 Summer Games venue. London snatched the prize from the favorite Paris to become the first city to host the event three times.

Alan Weller / Bloomberg News

April 20, 2006

A general view of the main Olympic center being developed in Stratford, east London. The Stratford international train station — which joins to the Channel Tunnel rail service that links London with Paris and Brussels and will also ferry passengers between the 2012 Olympic site and Kings Cross station in central London — can be seen at center.

Lefteris Pitarakis / AP

April 20, 2006

Workers of the newly completed Stratford international train station salute colleagues as they ride a train in east London.

Lefteris Pitarakis / AP

July 6, 2006

Confetti floats over Trafalgar Square during an event to mark the first anniversary of the announcement that London would host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. The capital city hosted a day of celebrations, including opportunities for the public to try out five different sports, to mark the anniversary.

Lefteris Pitarakis / AP

November 2007

This 2007 artist's impression shows the 2012 Olympic Stadium to be built in London. The showpiece 80,000-seat stadium in Stratford, east London, stands at the heart of the Olympic Park.

/ AP

May 22, 2008

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, left, with Olympic Olympic Development Agency Chairman John Armitt looks at a model of the Olympic Stadium during his visit to the 2012 Summer Games site in east London.

Paul Edwards / AP

June 21, 2011

An exterior view of the London 2012 Olympics Aquatics Centre, designed by architect Zaha Hadid. The concrete sections on either side, which will fit 15,000 extra seats, will come off at the end of the Games.

/ Bloomberg

July 6, 2011

English gold medal-winning sprinter Marlon Devonish poses on the stadium track at the Olympic Stadium.

/ Getty Images

July 26, 2011

An aerial view of the Olympic Stadium for the 2012 Summer Games.

Tom Shaw / Getty Images

July 26, 2011

The Lee Valley White Water Centre will host the Canoe Slalom events.

Tom Shaw / Getty Images

July 27, 2011

British Olympic diver Tom Daley performs a dive at the Aquatics Centre during the "London 2012 — One Year To Go" ceremony in Stratford, east London.

Kevin Quigley / Getty Images

Sept. 27, 2011

Mascot souvenirs sit on display at the London 2012 Olympic store at the Stratford City mall.

Simon Dawson / Bloomberg

Sept. 28, 2011

Defending England long jump champion and London 2012 hopeful J.J. Jegede attempts an exhibition jump over three Mini Coopers.

Julian Finney / Getty Images

Oct. 27, 2011

Production begins on the London 2012 victory medals at the Royal Mint in Pontyclun, Wales. A total of 4,700 medals will be made, split between the Olympics and Paralympics. They medals are 85 millimeters in diameter and the heaviest summer Olympic medals made.

Michael Steele / Getty Images

Jan. 11, 2012

Italy's Vanessa Ferrari chalks the uneven bars before performing during the international gymnastics Olympics test and qualification event at North Greenwich Arena in London.

Matt Dunham / AP

Jan. 13, 2012

Luba Golovina of Georgia performs during the gymnastics trampoline Olympic qualification round at North Greenwich Arena in London.

Paul Gilham / Getty Images

Jan. 17, 2012

A member of the Ukrainian team performs with the ribbon and hoop during the team final of the rhythmic gymnastics qualifier at the North Greenwich Arena in London.

Ben Stansall / Getty Images

Jan. 18, 2012

British paddler Mallory Franklin trains at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, the venue for the canoe slalom event, in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire.

Leon Neal / Getty Images

Jan. 24, 2012

Queen Underwood poses at the Howard Street Boxing Club in Spokane, Wash., where she is preparing for the Olympic trials for the U.S. team.

Dan Pelle / The Spokesman Review via AP

Jan. 24, 2012

Stephanie Robie, Maggie Shea and Darby Smith race in the women's match series of the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta on Biscayne Bay in Miami. More than 500 sailors from 44 countries competed in the stepping stone to the Summer Games.

J. Pat Carter / AP

This product illustration released by Nike shows a Turbospeed suit, the official apparel for the USA Track & Field team for the London Summer Olympics. Nike says the suit could shave up to 0.023 second off 100-meter sprint times.

/ AP

This product illustration released by Nike shows a Turbospeed suit, which U.S. Olympic track and field athletes will wear at the London Olympics.

/ AP

This image released by Ralph Lauren shows U.S. Olympic athletes, from left, swimmer Ryan Lochte, decathlete Bryan Clay, rower Giuseppe Lanzone and soccer player Heather Mitts modeling the Team USA opening ceremony parade uniform.

/ AP

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A protestor in a Guy Fawkes mask walks past razor wire outside a security perimeter of the G-8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland on Monday, June 17, 2013. The summit is taking place under heavy security, with some 7,000 police lining roads and checking vehicles. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Photos of the day

G-8 summit, massive protests rock Brazil, Britain’s Royal Ascot and more.

Inmates walk at a high-security male prison camp outside Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk May 14, 2013. High-security male prison camp number 17 is intended to house male inmates who are serving a sentence for the first time, and have been convicted for serious crimes. Prisoners at the facility work in wood and metal processing shops, manufacture furniture, sew clothes and do other kinds of work. They can also take part in educational, sport and cultural programs. Picture taken May 14, 2013. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin (RUSSIA - Tags: CRIME LAW SOCIETY) ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 4 OF 29 FOR PACKAGE 'INSIDE SIBERIA'S PRISONS' SEARCH 'ILYA PRISON' FOR ALL IMAGES

Life in a Siberian prison

A look inside a high-security prison camp outside Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Two-year old male rat named Dyatlik wears a costume during a rodent exhibition in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Animal views

Rodent exhibition, swimming with elephants, Mexico’s feline mayoral candidate and more.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Johnathon Carrington, valedictorian at Dunbar High School, laughs with family and friends after his school's graduation ceremony at Howard University on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Washington, DC. Carrington, who grew up in Tyler House public-housing apartments and is graduating from one of DC's low-performing high schoolsy, where academic expectations are high. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Johnathon’s journey

Johnathon Carrington graduated Friday as the valedictorian of his neighborhood school, Dunbar High, and is headed to Georgetown University. But Carrington, 17, is nervous, and so are...

U.S. actress Sandra Bullock poses for the media during a photocall to promote her latest move 'The Heat' in Berlin June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)

Eye on entertainment

Sandra Bullock, Jessica Sanchez, Snooki, Billy Porter, Billy Crystal, Sean Hayes, Gwen Stefani and other celebrities.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 16: Reenactors dressed as knights stage a medieval jousting competition at Eltham Palace on June 16, 2013 in Eltham, England. The 'Grand Medieval Joust' event at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property which was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to give a great insight into life at the palace during the medieval period. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

The Grand Medieval Joust

The Grand Medieval Joust at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property that was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to lend insight through reenactment into life at the palace...

In this June 8, 2013 photo, youth compete in the Sao Carlos slum local soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pitch is just dirt and the incandescent lights aren't so bright. But when the boys' feet strike the football in the Sao Carlos slum as night falls every Saturday, big league dreams glow, inflated by the hope of escaping the shantytown with sporting skills. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil’s other soccer fields

With the Confederations Cup opening this week and the World Cup one year away, all eyes are on Brazil, where soccer is arguably played with more passion and art than anywhere else....

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: John F. Tatum Sr. hugs his grandson John F. Tatum III during his annual Father's Day block party on Sunday, June 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

Father’s Day picnic in Northeast D.C.

A decades-old backyard barbecue in Northeast Washington draws hundreds in honor of dads everywhere. “It’s off-the-chain fun,” says Butch McNair, who has worked one...

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