London to host the 2012 Olympics

London will host the Olympic Games in 2012 after beating favourites Paris by 54 votes to 50 in a tense vote.

The city was chosen from five bidding cities in Singapore by the members of the International Olympic Committee.

There were huge celebrations in both Singapore and London, where thousands of delighted fans had gathered in Trafalgar Square to watch the result.

The decision to award the Games to London was announced at 12.49pm by the IOC president Jacques Rogge.

Click here to see pics of London 2012 celebrations

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It's the first time that London has hosted the Games since 1948, with the city also running the Olympics in 1908.

Huge crowds had also gathered in Paris where they were confident of winning the vote too, but it wasn't to be for them, with the announcement coming moments after it started raining there.

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David Beckham was in Singapore to celebrate the win

There will now be massive changes in the capital over the next seven years in a bid to get everything ready for the Olympics.

Lots of sporting venues - including the Olympic Stadium - have to be built and transport links improved to get East London ready for the biggest sporting event in the world.