 New York is planning an Olympic Stadium on the west of Manhattan |
The battle to host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics is expected to be the closest for years. With the five bidding cities - London, Paris, Madrid, New York and Moscow - handing their final plans to the International Olympic Committee on Monday, there is no going back.
The cities must hone their sales pitch for the IOC inspection visits in February and March, and then keep fingers crossed that things go their way in the final vote on 6 July.
Here London's rivals tell the BBC Sport website why they deserve to stage the biggest sporting show on earth.
PARIS
Paris is seen as the favourite for 2012 after finishing top of the class when the IOC cut the list of cities to five in May.
 | THE PARIS BID Two main sites in the north and west, 6km from Olympic village 80% of sports within 10 minutes of athletes' village Most venues already built, including Olympic stadium (Stade de France) Venues include Roland Garros and Parc des Princes Beach volleyball beneath the Eiffel Tower Olympic transport lane |
It has a successful 1998 football World Cup and 2003 World Athletics Championships behind it, and most of its key venues are already in place. "Our slogan is 'L'amour des jeux' [love of the games], which we believe reflects everything we want to put into our bid," said Paris 2012 global media officer Valerie Amant.
"It's a relection of our savoir faire in staging global sports events and indicates that we place the athletes at the heart of our concept and have done our best to meet the needs of the Olympic family.
"Our two main venue clusters in the north and west of the city are eight and six minutes away from the athletes' village.
"That ensures there will be optimum management of security, transport and logistics. It will be a very compact games, and leave the centre of Paris free from traffic."
NEW YORK
New York executive director Jay Kriegel insists the city's bid has taken a significant step forward since it was ranked fourth by the IOC in May.
Kriegel's team have made considerable changes to their Olympic village and transport plans which they believe answer concerns raised by the IOC.
| THE NEW YORK BID Olympic X - most sports on two intersecting transport axes Athletes' village on East River in Queens - all events to be staged within 32km Olympic stadium in west Manhattan - floating warm-up track on Hudson River Venues include Yankee Stadium, Gaints Stadium and Flushing Meadows |
"There's no question that you need an outstanding technical bid, and we think we've got one," he said. "Our athletes' village is in the centre of the city, right across from the United Nations, which in a sense is different from the recent trend at Games.
"Combined with the compactness of our plans, it means athletes and spectators can get to venues quickly, and we have an unusual concentration of hotel rooms right in the city centre.
"The legacy aspect is important to us. We don't have to talk about building a lot of infrastructure, but we can use the Games to do tremendous things environmentally and to create facilities for the future.
"This is a city which in many ways reflects the core Olympic values. It brings the world together every day and wherever you are from, you will get the same opportunity."
MADRID
Madrid 2012 president Feliciano Mayoral believes the city's plans for a compact, environmentally-friendly Games will make it an attractive option for the IOC.
| THE MADRID BID Airport 12 mins from city centre and key Olympic zones Three venue zones within a 10km radius Car-free, environmentally friendly Games Olympic transport lanes 70% of facilities already built |
The city, which has never hosted the Olympics, promises a 'car-free' event, with sports staged in three main zones, and a 'tangible legacy' for the city. According to Mayoral, the bid's main strengths are:
Our technical project, based on the concentration and proximity of the venues and facilities. Our transport plan, which promotes and encourages public transport. Our environmental plan, which states that all the new infrastructures that will be built and the location of venues must observe and respect every international environmental parameter or law. MOSCOW
Moscow is seen as an outsider in the race for 2012, but the Russian capital argues that its experience of hosting major sporting events on a regular basis makes it a safe choice.
| THE MOSCOW BID Most events in five complexes within 10km radius along Moscow River All events within city limits 71% of venues already built More than 100 major events hosted since 1980 Games 60,000 visitors can travel by boat to Olympic venues |
"Our plans for 2012 are based on existing facilities and that obviously cuts our expenses," said Moscow 2012 information manager Ekaterina Militskaya. "And we have good experience of using the Olympic legacy after the Games. Almost all of our facilities from the 1980 Olympics are still being used.
"We think our Olympic River Plan is the most compact in the history of the Games. The main sports facilities and the athletes and media villages are situated along the Moscow River.
"It cuts down travelling times and is also a plus for security planning. The longest trip will be to the sailing centre, which is about 70 minutes away."
MMIX
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