The 40 Days of Noah

 In the Bible, 40 is a very important number.  For starters - and this might be the most important - it's exactly 40 days from July 27th (the start of the 30th Olympiad) to September 5.

40 is the number of days it rained when Noah was on the ark.  The ark is represented this year by a replica floating up and down the Thames during the Olympics.

September 5, 2012 is the 40th anniversary of the death of 11 Israeli Olympic hostages at the hands of the Palestenian extremists.