London edges Paris as Olympics host

LONDON – From the streets of Singapore to Trafalgar Square, Londoners celebrated their upset win Wednesday over Paris for the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Thousands who had crammed into Trafalgar erupted with joy and disbelief when the president of the International Olympic Committee announced the results in a live broadcast from Singapore, seven time zones away. Simultaneously, about 210 miles to the south, Parisians gathered at their City Hall anticipating success reacted with a collective groan. Some wept openly, while others drifted away in stunned silence as rain began to fall.

Madrid, Moscow and New York were also in the running at the start of what became the tightest site selection contest in modern Olympic history.