The London Olympics 2012 Host Country Flag was hoisted in Hanoi on Jan. 9by British Ambassador Antony Stokes and Vietnamese Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho Anh Tuan.

The event marked the 200 day countdown to the world's major sporting event.

Present at the ceremony were representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam Olympics Committee (VOC) and Vietnamese athletes who will compete in London.

With this year's Games, London will become the first city to host the modern Olympic Games three times (1908, 1948 and 2012).

"I am proud that Britain has seen the invention of so many top sports. But the London event is more than sports. It can help us to show Britain to the world, as an open, dynamic, creative and connected, as one of the world's best places to live, work, study, visit and do business," said Stokes.

Vice president of the VOC Hoang Vinh Giang said the London event will also be an opportunity to strengthen solidarity, friendship and mutual understanding between different nations on earth, thus developing a world of peace.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games will attract a total of 14,700 athletes from all over the world - and 22,000 journalists.

This year's Games will be the first to calculate its complete carbon footprint. The Olympic Stadium is structurally and environmentally the lightest stadium of its size yet built./.