A Guide to the London Olympics

What's your favorite sport in the summer Games? Are you down for the classics like rowing and gymnastics, or ready to try some beach volleyball or BMX racing? Find everything you need to know which events are happening on which days so you can tune in -- or, if lucky -- attend in person.

The 2012 summer Olympics kicked off in London with a parachuting queen stunt double and a lavish opening ceremony. They also opened with some controversy about security preparations and the refusal of the International Olympic Committee to hold a moment of silence for the Munich 11. Here's what people are saying about the London Olympics.

Eleven athletes and coaches in the 30-member Israeli delegation were killed at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich by Palestinian terrorists belonging to a group called Black September. Family members, politicians, and a grass-roots campaign urged the IOC to hold a minute of silence for the fallen at the 2012 Games, to no avail. Here are their stories.

Which countries took the gold last time the world met around the Olympic flame? The results are sorted by ranking, country, numbers of gold, silver and bronze, and number of total medals.

According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), a son of Zeus. Yet the first Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BCE (though it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years already). At this Olympic Games, a naked runner, Coroebus (a cook from Elis), won the sole event at the Olympics, the stade - a run of approximately 192 meters (210 yards). This made Coroebus the very first Olympic champion in history.

Born on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary became queen of England on Feb. 6, 1952, upon the death of her father, George VI. She is the third-longest-reigning monarch in the history of Britain. She endeared herself to the British public as princess during World War II, when she rolled up her sleeves and joined the war effort in the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. As soon as her father's health declined in 1951, Elizabeth began picking up many of his duties as the heiress apparent. Her reign has been marked by milestones -- like being the first British monarch to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress -- and public turmoil, such as the divorce of her son Charles from Princess Diana. The House of Windsor has ruled the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms since 1917. Learn about the members of the royal family here.

Edward VIII assumed the throne in January 1936 as an unmarried man known for his womanizing. But his sights were set upon a divorced American socialite, Wallis Simpson. The two had been introduced in 1931, when Simpson was still married to her second husband. The scandal of the affair sent shockwaves through Buckingham Palace and the Church of England. Simpson filed for divorce and Edward abdicated the throne in December. "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility, and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love," he said in a broadcast.

Britain's last major global event? On April 29, 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton said their vows in Westminster Abbey before an estimated television audience of two billion people worldwide. Here are photos of the royal wedding that many credit with reviving the monarchy as the young couple became the duke and duchess of Cambridge.

No country is an island, even the island of Britain: The economic and political confederation of 27 European states was founded in 1993, sparking the eurozone monetary union and the issues that have come with it in the face of global recession. With more than 500 million inhabitants and 20 percent of global GDP, the EU is a driving force on the world stage. Here are some players and issues making headlines in the EU.