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 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