Tessa Jowell has announced the government will back London's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.
The announcement was welcomed by the British Olympic Association (BOA) and Sport England.
BOA London Olympic Project co-ordinator, David Luckes, said: To produce a world-beating bid than can inspire everyone in this country and abroad is a challenge London will approach with relish.
Sport England chief executive, Roger Draper, added: This bid will do wonders for the profile of sport at every level. It will ignite interest in sporting success at grass roots level and must be part of an overall strategy for sport.
The main focus of the games will be a new stadium in Stratford, East London, with an aquatic centre, velodrome and the Olympic Village also being constructed to the east of the city.
Other venues would be the new National stadium - currently under construction at Wembley - and the Millennium Dome.
The cost of staging the Games has been estimated at £2.375bn, with funding coming from the government, the Greater London Authority, the London Development Agency and the private sector.
London will be up against cities including Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris which are also submitting applications the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The final decision on where the Games will eventually be hosted will be made by the IOC in 2005.
Photograph: The new Wembley Stadium would play a vital part in hosting the Olympics