The campaign for the 2012 Summer Olympics is officially underway with nine cities meeting a July 15 deadline to file with the International Olympic Committee.

In alphabetic order, the list includes Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York City, Paris and Rio de Janeiro.

The field is one of the largest ever for the Olympics and it could remain so through the final stages of the race. IOC President Jacques Rogge has suggested that there might be only minimal cuts to the field next May when the first winnowing is scheduled.

The IOC will vote on the 2012 host at its session in Singapore on July 6, 2005.

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