"For the Olympic Games of 2012, the Olympic Movement has received candidatures from five prestigious cities, all perfectly capable of organizing Games of the highest quality," said IOC president Jacques Rogge.

Earlier this year, at Mipim, London Mayor Ken Livingstone unveiled a 10-billion-pound ($19.3-billion) infrastructure improvement package for the city. "We want to win the bid," he stated, "but this funding is there for future potential. The Olympics are an add-on to what we would have done in London anyway." Projects included additional rail lines to unify the sprawl and a continuation of affordable and market-rate housing among other initiatives. Multiplex, Stanhope, Westfield and LCR agreed on terms with the London Development Agency to build the Olympic Village and Olympic International Zone in Stratford City. The village will provide accommodation for 17,000 athletes and support teams, which would be transformed into 2,300 homes following the games.

A team led by EDAW, in partnership with HOK Sport, Foreign Office Architects, and Allies and Morrison serves as the master plan architect. The master plan provided the design framework needed to transform 1,500 acres in one of the poorest parts of the UK. The Lower Lea Valley runs north south from Stratford to Canary Wharf, although situated just three miles from Central London. Research suggests that regeneration of the area could potentially create around 40,000 new jobs, 30,000 new homes and 1,000 new businesses.