MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

London edged it by four votes

Four votes were enough to give London a dramatic victory over Paris over the right to host the 2012 Olympics here on Wednesday.

The final count was 54-50 for Paris.

Crowds in central London cheered loudly and waved flags as they heard Wednesday that their city had overtaken Paris to win the games. Champagne was sprayed around Nelson's Column and thousands danced in the streets.

The announcement from Singapore was shown on giant TV screens in Trafalgar Square in central London, and in the east London area where the Olympic village will be built.

Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed London's victory, saying the city would stage a "fantastic" game.

He said the effort by the bid team led by former Olympic gold medallist Lord Coe had been "just awesome." "We have got a great chance now to develop sport in our country and to have a fantastic Olympic Games and then to leave a legacy for the future," he told reporters in Gleneagles, where he is hosting the G8 summit.

Prince William, who is in New Zealand, joined the celebration. "I'm looking forward to what I'm sure will be a fantastic Olympic Games," said the second-in-line to the throne, according to The Associated Press.

There was a very different atmosphere in the French capital Pariswhere a crowd of thousands fell silent outside City Hall after the decision was announced. It started to rain shortly after the news was announced, and disappointed spectators left the square after the third unsuccessful attempt by Paris since 1992 to bring the games back to the city, which hosted the Olympics in 1908 and 1924. Paris was initially the frontrunner against the other four finalist cities.

After the decision was announced, a band struck up the theme tune of the James Bond movies about the fictional British spy. French TV presenters fell silent for a moment. One, on the news network LCI, said a quiet "Oh la-la" of disbelief, AFP said. Earlier on Wednesday, the three other finalists vying to host the games were voted out.

In Moscow -- the first city to hear the bad news -- CNN Correspondent Ryan Chilcote reported that a huge crowd gathered in Red Square seemed initially unaware their bid had failed.

The ceremony to name the Olympic host city, taking place in Singapore, was relayed on large TV screens, but without sound, according to AFP.

Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, who headed Moscow's unsuccessful campaign, later paid tribute to London's bid. "We want to offer our warm and sincere congratulations to London and we are confident that they will stage memorable Games of the 30th Olympiad," the Press Association reported.

In Rockefeller Center in New York, a planned victory celebration was muted after thr announcement. "Everybody seems disappointed," Nick Patrickas, a painter from Huntington, on Long Island, told AP. "Economically, we'd have a brand new stadium and a lot of people will come to visit." Patrick Keane, 57, of Queens, said the city had attractions had things its competitors did not. "It's a very international city, so every country could feel welcome and supported," he said. "It could have been a focus for development of certain parts of the city ... and there's just the whole ripple effect of having the Olympics." In Singapore, top New York delegates -- including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and U.S. Olympic Committee president Peter Ueberroth -- sadly embraced each other outside their hotel but declined to comment to reporters. Mayor Michael Bloomberg managed a weak smile, adding: "It's a lovely evening, isn't it?"

In Spain's capital the party mood evaporated in the heat after IOC members eliminated Madrid.A collective silence, followed by boos, whistles and insults, spread across the city's central square that had been decked out with flags amid expectation that the only major European capital yet to stage the Olympics would finally win, according to The Associated Press. One young girl in a red t-shirt with the Spanish bull emblem fell to her knees and wept. "I am very disappointed," student Pablo told Agence France Presse news agency. Madrid last tried to bid for the games in 1972, when Munich won.

London in numbers

London has 2,9 million inhabitants but Greater London 7,38 million. The 2012 Olympic Games are expected to demand 3,8 billion US dollars for organization and another 15,8 billion for infrastructure.

The Olympic Stadium will seat 80,000 and the outlay of the grounds for all games will be in a maximum radius of eleven kilometres. This means that 97% of athletes will be housed at a 30 minutes distance from where ever they compete, and 80%, at a 20 minutes distance.