"See the World, Visit London" hope will build on a unique moment in time - two cities, one handover and the official launch of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

 

The campaign will mark the capital's status as official Olympic Host City and invites the world to experience London.

 

Visit London chief executive James Bidwell said: "'See the World, Visit London' celebrates a historic moment for our capital, the Olympic handover.

 

"The campaign celebrates our city in a unique way, capturing our truly global status and underpinning the importance of London as the number one international tourist destination.

 

"We are the greatest city on earth and Visit London's strategy is to emphasise this across all our communications.

 

"In the words of one of the finest English authors, Samuel Johnson, ‘There is in London all that life can afford' and as we prepare to host the greatest sporting event on earth our campaign shows there is no other place to be than here."

 

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "This is the largest ever campaign launched by Visit London and it really captures the excitement and anticipation of the Olympic handover to our capital.

 

"London is a global leader in the arts, culture and creative industries and this campaign urges tourists to come and experience our world-city for themselves."

 

Bidwell said 'See the World, Visit London' was a critical campaign in the organisation's strategy to leverage the benefits of London 2012 for the capital.

 

He said: "From the 24th of August, the Olympic spotlight will be on our capital.

 

"London already welcomes more overseas tourists than any other city in the world and our goal is to maintain that momentum in the lead up to and beyond the London 2012 Games.

 

"Tourism in London is big business and a deliverable legacy with a potential £2.2 billion incremental revenue opportunity for London alone.

 

"Our status as host city for 2012 is unique and Visit London is committed to delivering this legacy of the Games to London and Londoners."

 

Featuring a map of London imposed onto planet Earth with the River Thames featuring prominently, "See the World, Visit London" shows that the world is represented in the capital and inviting the world to see and experience it.

 

Using the iconic globe imagery, the campaign will develop over time to reflect the depth of the visitor experience in London from heritage to theatre, the arts or even shopping.

 

"See the World, Visit London" is a £4 million global advertising campaign that will run in the press across London and Britain as well as on the capital's underground network.

 

Internationally, it will run online and outdoors including North and South America, Europe, Australasia, China, India and Russia.

 

The campaign also features a film that will run online globally and across live screens in London.

 

These screens have been set up to view the live telecast of the Olympic handover to the capital from Beijing on Sunday.

 

Bidwell is also hoping that the success of Britain's Olympic team in Beijing will enthuse people from across the UK to make plans to attend the Games in four years time.

 

He said: "Team GB have made us all proud over the last few days.

 

"The gutsy performances and sheer determination shown by our athletes have been phenomenal.

 

"Our sportsmen and sportswomen are the pride of London and Britain. 

 

"These results will only energise the British public ahead of our own London Games in 2012.

 

"The majority of visitors to London 2012 will be domestic visitors and no doubt great sporting expectations and results will help us deliver the 2012 tourism legacy." 

 

An independent report by Oxford Economics estimates the number of visitors to London for the 2012 Games will be just over 908,000 of these 586,000 are domestic visitors and almost
322,000 are overseas.