Congratulations to London!

　　Bringing home the gold in a breathtaking bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games really made London's bid organizers and their nation proud.

　　The quality of all the candidates made the contest the most closely fought in Olympic history.

　　London and Paris were widely considered the favourites in the race, ahead of Madrid, New York and Moscow.

　　Yet, the vote was too close to call until a crunch decision was finally reached yesterday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Singapore.

　　Huge passion and excellent preparation were shown by all candidates, with support truly widespread across the bid countries. And their all-out efforts impressed the IOC delegates and all those who had closely watched the contest.

　　It is London's very good luck that it stood out in this fierce but fair contest.

　　We fully appreciate the excitement people in London enjoyed at this moment. Still fresh in our memory is the similar joy we experienced when Beijing was announced host of the 2008 Olympic Games four years ago.

　　As the modern Olympic Games has developed into a great opportunity not only to promote sporting spirit but also to boost the host's global reputation, major world cities have shown increasing interest in winning an Olympic bid.

　　But every four year there comes only one host.

　　Now, like Beijing, London is charged with the honorable task of delivering a dream Olympic Games to the whole world.

　　Disappointed as they were, the other four candidate cities, despite missing out this time, still have much to benefit from through their bidding work.

　　We shared much of the same feeling when Beijing narrowly lost its first bid in 1993.

　　But, as IOC President Jacques Rogge put it, a candidature, even if it is not selected, leaves a tangible legacy.

　　All the candidates have contributed to the Olympics by rallying their people around the event.

　　Moreover, during their endeavours to win the bid, they have all demonstrated the best side of their cities, their people and their countries.

　　One reason why many Chinese people have watched the bid contest so attentively may be the tourist attraction of these candidate cities.

　　It is likely that the 2012 Olympics will welcome a larger than ever on-site Chinese audience as tourists to the host city.

　　Last year, only a small proportion of the 29 million travellers from the Chinese mainland visited Europe.

　　Undoubtedly, China's tourists are set to flock overseas in increasing numbers following the country's rising economic power.

　　The World Tourism Organization forecast that China will become the world's fourth-largest outbound tourist country by 2020. All the candidate cities have amazed their potential Chinese tourists.

　　Successful or not, their Olympic bids have definitely presented the cities at their best to people all over the world.