In 144 days and counting, London will be the very first city to host the modern Olympic Games for the third time. Proud Londoners will open the 2012 Olympics with as much, if not more, fervour than the previous two. In 1908 the city welcomed the world for the first time, there after the Games came to town a second time in 1948. Now once again in 2012, athletes, officials and sports fans from around the world will return to London to celebrate healthy competition and sheer prowess of play.