2012 London Summer Olympics Logo

The 2012 London Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony is tomorrow, July 27th, but some football events have already begun. Here is the schedule of all events through the final day, August 12th.

This is the third time London is hosting the modern Olympics (1908, 1948), tied with Athens for the most of any city.

The modern games began in 1896 and were hosted in Athens, a nod to the original games of ancient Greece.

This is the 28th Summer Olympiad (if you include the 1906 “Intercalated Games“), though it is being called the XXX Summer Olympics. That’s because the organizers, for whatever reason, keep ticking the number whether the Olympics are held or not (minus the 1906 games).  In other words, the 1916, 1940  and 1944 were not held due to World War I and World War II, but are still counted. The 1906 games are not. That’s how we’ve gotten to the 30th Olympiad.

Here’s a look at all the host cities of the modern Summer Olympics, and for each set of games, the top three countries who won the most medals. This is a very interesting list that speaks not only about sport, but also the political landscape of the times.

The USA and Europe dominated the early Olympics, but not long after World War II, the Soviet Union and it’s communist satellite countries rose to the very top (the US maintaining its status).  Most recently, it’s a four-horse race: the US, China, Russia and Germany.

Enjoy the Games!

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* Following the political collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia and 11 other former Communist block countries formed the Unified Team of 1992.

Photo: spitfireseattle.com