"Yesterday, London became the world’s Olympic city. It is a great honour and one that comes with great responsibilities. In less than four years’ time, our gleaming new venues will throng with thousands of visitors and, for a few delirious weeks, London will be the centre of the sporting world.

But the Olympics and Paralympics promise much more than a month of games. They offer a fantastic opportunity for regeneration in London and the chance to make great changes through the life-enhancing powers of sport. Before the Games in 2012, we can, and must, encourage people across the UK to become more active, more ambitious, and to be inspired by the great Olympic traditions.

Now, more than ever, our young people need worthy role models and our sportsmen and women offer an unrivalled example of what can be achieved through hard work and determination. By encouraging young Londoners to take up sports, we are able to give them great gifts — the excitement of achievement, the esteem of their peers, the skill of self-discipline — so a revolution in participation is one of our big ambitions.

Another is the regeneration of East London. I am committed to ensuring that the effects of the funds coming to us from the Olympics project are felt for a very long time. Over the coming years, the lower Lea Valley will be transformed from one of the poorest areas in Europe into a model for inner-city regeneration.

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BACKGROUND

• How the Brits became world beaters

• London double-decker arrives in Beijing

• Olympics proves capacity for greatness

• New dawn for British sport as Olympic sun sets

Multimedia

• Simon Barnes in Beijing

• Bring back the tug-of-war

• Top 100 Olympic athletes of all time

Times Archive: Olympic closing ceremonies: how they used to do them

From Berlin, 1936, to Los Angeles, 1984, we've dug into The Times Archive to revisit some of the high points and the hubris

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• Olympic timeline

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We’re already making fantastic progress in the Olympic Park, with some of the major construction projects starting well ahead of schedule. As we press ahead with the other developments — new housing, sports facilities, cultural venues, public spaces and transport links — it is essential we keep a lid on the budget. Londoners have made a great contribution to the Games and we must recognise that with a careful and cautious approach to incidental costs.

Another of our big ambitions is that the 2012 Games should benefit all Londoners, whether they live in zone 1 or zone 6 and whether they’re into sports or not. I’m hugely excited about the cultural Olympiad (which launches next autumn), a major programme of activities and exhibitions that will run up to, and alongside, the sporting games. Across the UK, artists, musicians, film-makers, storytellers and members of the public will come together to pool creative energy and engage more people in the great adventure that is the Olympic experience — I can’t wait.

In the meantime, I’ll be working tirelessly to secure a legacy that permanently and positively transforms our city, benefiting Londoners for generations to come." Boris Johnson, Mayor of London

"Today I can proudly say London 2012 is the next host city of the summer Olympic Games. That incredible moment came in Beijing’s magnificent Bird’s Nest stadium last night as the Olympic flag passed from Beijing’s Mayor to Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London.

Both here in China, and back in the UK, Team GB’s spectacular performances have been infectious. They’ve inspired and amazed us and, as a result, there’s a palpable sense of excitement, and pride, at being British. Team GB, through their professionalism and excellence on the most demanding world stage, has put us on the crest of a sporting wave.

And that momentum will carry on until London. Our Games will be memorable and inspiring as they unite the whole country in a way that only sport can.

Soon the talk will not be of the Bird’s Nest or the Rowing Lake but of London’s handsome venues, new and old.

The very best of British – Wembley, Wimbledon, Lord’s, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Parade – will be some of the indelible backdrops for events in 2012 while others will be played out in the new Olympic Park in East London.

The 2012 Games will make us proud of our heritage and our enthusiasm for sport as well as providing a huge, multicultural, world-class event for athletes and spectators.

The London 2012 Games will also inspire lasting change. Our legacy commitments ensure that nothing will be built unless it can be used by athletes, and the community, long after the London Games draw to a close.

One of these major changes is our chance to regenerate a seriously deprived area of East London and to leave behind new homes, jobs, open spaces, parks and opportunities for generations to come.

Most of all the Games will encourage young people to believe, both in this country and around the world, that they too have the ability to live their dreams and to take up a sport which will make a difference to their lives and those around them.

Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, believed in healthy bodies and minds. London 2012 will embody these principles as well as embracing others such as inclusivity and tolerance in society. We are, after all, also the proud hosts of the Paralympic Games which will take place after the Olympic Games.

Beijing has been a fantastic experience for the London 2012 team. It has made us even more determined to work harder on our own unique Games.

The countdown has begun." Lord Coe, Chairman, London Organising Committee