London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics being selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) when put up against other world cities in a competitive bidding process. On 6 July 2005 at its 117th Session in Singapore, the IOC awarded London the right to host the Games of the XXX Olympiad. The city beat the favourite Paris 54 to 50 on the fourth and final ballot. London is the first city to host the Games three times. At the time of the bid, the budget projection was around £2 billion, but it was later estimated that the true cost would be around £9 billion. The project involved
Summer Olympic Games bronze medals. Pyrros Dimas, winning a bronze medal, became the most decorated weightlifter of all time with 3 golds and 1 bronze in Olympic Games. Although unfounded reports of potential terrorism drove crowds away from the preliminary competitions of the first weekend of the games (14–15 August), attendance picked up as the games progressed. A third of the tickets failed to sell, but ticket sales still topped figures from Seoul and Barcelona Olympics. IOC President Jacques Rogge characterised Greece's organisation as outstanding and its security precautions as flawless. The Athens Games witnessed all 202 NOCs participate with over 11,000 participants.