Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics The association football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics was held from 25 July to 11 August, and was the only sport to begin before the official opening day of the Olympic Games, two days before the opening ceremony. It was also the only sport to be held at multiple venues outside London (the host city of the Olympics), with Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Coventry and Cardiff all hosting matches. The finals were played at Wembley Stadium. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their senior women's and men's under-23 national teams to participate;
Madrid bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics Madrid bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics Madrid 2012 was one of the five short-listed bids for the 2012 Summer Games. Madrid and New York City were the only two cities that opted to hold the 2012 Olympics that had never held a Summer Olympics before. The candidacy celebration, held on June 5, 2005 in central Madrid, included the carrying of the longest flag ever constructed through the streets of Madrid using over a thousand volunteering citizens of Madrid as well as a performance by pop singer Shakira. The celebration concluded with a fireworks show. The official slogan of the