Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - London has been awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics in a surprising upset over European rival Paris.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge made the announcement Wednesday in Singapore.

"The International Olympic Committee has the honor of announcing that the Games of the 30th Olympiad in 2012 are awarded to the city of London," Rogge exclaimed after opening the sealed envelope.

With those words, raucous cheers erupted from London citizens watching on giant video screens in the city's Trafalgar Square, while Parisians sat in stunned silence in front of their City Hall.

Paris was the heavy favorite to win the bid entering Wednesday's voting process, which started with five cities. Moscow, New York and Madrid were eliminated in early voting rounds, setting up the final tally between long- standing -- at times bitter -- European adversaries.

London won the final round by a margin of just four votes, 54-50.

The British capital will entertain its third Olympics, previously hosting in 1908 and 1948.

"This is just the most fantastic opportunity to do everything we ever dreamed of in British sport," London 2012 chairman and former Olympic gold medal distance runner Sebastian Coe was quoted as saying on the committee's website.

"We have a chance over seven years and way beyond that to change the face of British sport."

It was the fourth bid try for Britain in the past 20 years. Birmingham lost out to Barcelona for the 1992 Games, while Manchester was beaten in campaigns for the 1996 Olympics that went to Atlanta and the 2000 Games that were hosted by Sydney.

Paris, meanwhile, was denied for a third time in the past 20 years. The capital of France previously lost out to Barcelona for the 1992 Olympics and to Beijing for the 2008 Games.

The Summer Olympics were previously held in Paris in 1900 and 1924, while France last hosted the Winter Games in 1992 in Albertville.

Moscow previously held a boycotted Games in 1980, while New York and Madrid have never been host cities.

After a day of presentations by each city, the IOC members voted in secret ballots, with a simple majority needed to win. Without a majority, the city that received the lowest total was eliminated and another round of ballots was cast.

The first round ended with London receiving 22 votes, Paris 21, Madrid 20, New York 19 and Moscow 15 -- eliminating the Russian capital. Madrid then surprisingly went in front in round two with 32 votes, followed by London with 27, Paris with 25 and New York with 16 -- ending the American hopes.

The New York City bid was likely hurt by a number of issues, including the last-minute change of its Olympic Stadium plan. However, the lack of public support for the Games was also a probable factor.

"We are extremely proud and appreciative of the efforts of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, who worked tirelessly to bring the Games back to U.S. soil, the United States Olympic Committee said in a joint statement from chairman of the board Peter Ueberroth and CEO Jim Scherr. "Through the commitment of the more than 2000 athletes in the NYC2012 Circle of Olympians and Paralympians, the thousands of volunteers who believed in the vision of a New York Games, and the enthusiastic support of New Yorkers everywhere, the bid continued to gain momentum."

London regained the lead in the third round, picking up 39 votes to 33 for Paris. Madrid was eliminated with 31, setting up the final tally.

"This is amazing," London mayor Ken Livingstone said on the London 2012 site. "When we started out it was a mountain to climb, but we've had an incredible few days here [in Singapore].

"What came over in our presentation was giving kids the chance -- it's not just about cities."

According to the IOC, the Olympic Park will be created in East London. Existing venues expected to be used for the Games include historic Wembley Stadium and Wimbledon.