Venezuela at the 2012 Summer Olympics Venezuela at the 2012 Summer Olympics Venezuela competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's seventeenth consecutive appearance at the Olympics, since its debut at the same host city in 1948. Celebrating the anniversary of the nation's Olympic debut, the British Embassy in Caracas invited former track cyclist Julio César León to travel back to the United Kingdom, and revisit his memories as the first Venezuelan athlete in history to compete at the games. With the absence of baseball and softball at the Olympics, the Venezuelan Olympic Committee (,
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