Iraq at the 2012 Summer Olympics Iraq at the 2012 Summer Olympics The Middle Eastern nation of Iraq competed at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's thirteenth appearance at the Olympics since its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics in the same host city. Before the Olympic Games started, FIFA banned Iraq from hosting qualifiers in the World Cup and even in the Olympics for security concerns, and for having a player with two cards participated in a match against United Arab Emirates. Iraq also competed for the first time in Olympics without receiving
Madrid bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. After failing to achieve victory in the election process of the host city of the 2012 Summer Olympics, the city council of Madrid decided to nominate it a candidate to host the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics on July 3, 2006. The nomination was encouraged by statements of the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, that European cities would still have a chance to host the 2016 Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) launched the bidding process for the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics on May 16, 2007. On May 30, 2007, the candidature