• Women took part in all sports in the Olympic Games 
  • Nicola Adams from Team GB became the first female Olympic boxing champion 
  • The Paralympic Flame was lit by Scouts
  • The Olympic Cauldron was lit by more than one person - seven young athletes with their sights set on Rio 2016 
  • A Paralympian, Oscar Pistorius, took part in an Olympic running race 
  • Handball was included in the Olympic programme 
  • First time Great Britain entered a team in certain sports - Gymnastics (Rhythmic), Handball, Sitting Volleyball and Volleyball 
  • 4,200 athletes from 166 nations including Brunei Darussalam, Djibouti and San Marino took part in the Paralympic Games 
  • The Saudi Arabian team included a female athlete, Wojdan ShaherKani