Premiership of Tony Blair which was an agreement to increase British contributions to the EU Development Budget for new member countries, which effectively reduced the UK rebate by 20% . On 6 July 2005, during the 117th International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Singapore, the IOC announced that the 2012 Summer Olympics, the Games of the XXX Olympiad, were awarded to London over Paris by only four votes. The competition between Paris and London to host the Games had become increasingly heated particularly after French President Jacques Chirac commented three days before the vote that "one cannot trust people [ie: the British] whose cuisine
2010 Asian Games Asia (OCA), Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah and President of International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge. The ceremony lasted for three hours, and together with the closing ceremony costed about ￥380 million ( million). Athletes were paraded by boats along the Pearl River. The ceremony featured the water-themed arts show and culture of Guangzhou. The last torchbearer, diver He Chong lit up the cauldron, after igniting the traditional Chinese firecrackers whose flare shot up to the top of the tower where the cauldron was held. The ceremony was regarded as successful by IOC President Jacques Rogge who described it as "absolutely fantastic",