All you need to know about the 2012 Olympic bid: contenders, key dates, London's big plan and the decision-making process.

Which cities are in the running?

Nine have submitted their applications: Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro.

Which one is the current favourite?

Though much can change over the next 18 months, the present signs point to Paris as the city to beat. London and Madrid give Europe a strong hand, with New York and Rio also in with a shout.

Geography favours Europe in 2012 after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Asia (Beijing) and 2010 Winter Games in North America (Vancouver). But most IOC members are focusing on next summer's games in Athens and haven not started looking ahead to 2012 yet.

The latest odds from Betinternet.com are: Paris: 7-4, London: 9-4, Madrid: 11-2, New York: 8-1, Rio de Janeiro: 10-1, Moscow: 18-1, Leipzig: 22-1, Istanbul: 50-1, Havana: 100-1.

What is London offering?

The London bid team, Bidco, are aiming for a compact Olympic zone based in Stratford in the east of the capital which will be the venue for the Olympic stadium, village and aquatics centre.

The 500-acre zone will be part of the largest urban park to be laid down in Europe for 200 years. At least 14 of the 34 sporting disciplines can be accommodated at 11 venues within the precinct.

The main problem will be the post-Games role of the 80,000-seat main stadium. The most likely scenario is that it would be reduced in size to about 50,000 seats and the lease offered to a football club

Building of the aquatic centre will have started by 2005. This will bring a much-needed 50m pool to the capital, which, at the moment, has only two, one at Crystal Palace and the other at Ealing, both of which are many years old.