20 December 2012 Last updated at 03:24

London in 2012: A year in pictures

The highlight of an incredible year in London was the summer's Olympic and Paralympics Games. It began with Danny Boyle's spectacular opening ceremony at the stadium in Stratford, east London, on 27 July.

Crowds in London watching the Olympic on big screen

Crowds gathered at locations across the capital to cheer on athletes as fears that London's transport and infrastructure could not cope failed to materialise.

Thousands turned out for the victory parade in central London to celebrate Team GB's and Paralympic GB's huge medal hauls during the Games.

The 1000-boat Diamond Jubilee pageant on the Thames

But it was not the first time big crowds were seen on the streets of London in 2012. Around one million people braved the rain to watch the Queen's 1,000-boat Diamond Jubilee pageant weave its way along the Thames during a double bank holiday in June.

The following day there was a concert in The Mall to celebrate the Queen's 60 years on the throne. The Queen and other members of the Royal family embarked on a carriage procession after a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral.

But the year began in a more sombre mood as two men were found guilty in January of the 1993 racist murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence. David Norris (left) and Gary Dobson received life terms for killing the 18-year-old in Eltham, south-east London.

Nathaniel Grant (left), Kazeem Kolawole (middle) and Anthony McCalla (right)

In April gang members Nathaniel Grant, Kazeem Kolawole and Anthony McCalla were jailed for life for a shooting in a Brixton shop which left a five-year-old girl paralysed. Thusha Kamaleswaran is the youngest victim of gun crime in the capital.

Boris Johnson is congratulated by Prime Minister David Cameron

In May, Conservative Boris Johnson won a second term as the mayor of London beating his Labour rival Ken Livingstone in a closely fought contest.

In April, Tottenham Court Road was closed as armed police were deployed following reports of a hostage situation in an office building when furniture was thrown from the fifth floor. Michael Green, 48, pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and making a bomb hoax, and was jailed for six years.

The decomposing body of multi-millionaire Eva Rausing was found at her home in Belgravia, central London, in July. Her husband Hans Kristian Rausing was given a suspended jail sentence for preventing the lawful burial of his wife. The judge in the trial said the case illustrated the "utterly destructive effects of drug misuse".

The Cutty Sark in Greenwich was reopened by the Queen in April, five years after it was ravaged by fire but the £50m restoration was criticised by the Victorian Society which said it pandered to the "corporate hospitality market".

Tragedy struck the London Marathon in April as 30-year-old runner Claire Squires died approaching the last leg of the race. Her death prompted a huge response to her JustGiving fundraising page and she has raised nearly £941,000.

David Sharp wearing a t-shirt during an appeal for information at New Scotland Yard in central London, on his missing 12 year old niece

A huge search began in August for 12-year-old schoolgirl Tia Sharp. She had been missing for about a week before her body was found in the loft of her grandmother's home in New Addington, south London. Stuart Hazell, 37, has been charged with her murder.

The £60m Thames cable car opened to the public in June. The Emirates Air Line links the O2 Arena in Greenwich with the ExCel exhibition centre at the Royal Docks. London mayor Boris Johnson said it was a "stunning addition to London's transport network" but it has been criticised as an expensive tourist attraction.

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London in 2012: A year in pictures

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