played a vital role in the landings, more than 23,000 men of the American 4th Infantry Division departed from Torquay for Utah Beach during Overlord. The visiting restrictions were lifted in early July soon after the beach-head in Normandy had been established following the D-Day landings, and the American and Commonwealth troops billeted in the town had departed for Northern France and Nazi-occupied Europe. Soon after the lifting of restrictions, Great Western Railways announced "We expect a big rush of holidaymakers to the South West but unfortunately here are no arrangements for running extra trains". It opened the floodgates, a fortnight later a display board outside Paddington Station reported "Paddington overcrowded. Please use alternative routes". 1945 Although there were still signs of war damage to be repaired throughout the town, Torquay was declared 'open to visitors' when peace was declared in May having made a massive contribution to the war effort through its training of RAF personnel and its role in the preparations and ultimate success of Operation Overlord. Since 1945 After the war tourist patterns changed considerably. Many more people could afford to travel abroad for their holidays, and car ownership became commonplace, leading to fewer visitors to British holiday resorts, mostly travelling by car, and often touring, spending a day or two in each place. Many visitors stay at inexpensive bed-and-breakfast accommodation (b&b's) instead of hotels. In 1948 the watersports events of the 1948 Summer Olympic Games were held in Torbay. The Olympic flame was brought from London and burned for the duration at Torre Abbey Gardens. In 1950 the EBU, a coalition of 23 broadcasting organisations from Europe and the Mediterranean was formed in Torquay following a conference held by the BBC at the Imperial Hotel on the seafront. The EBU's most well-known production is probably the Eurovision Song Contest organised by its Eurovision Network. In the early twenty-first century Torquay became better-known abroad, and received more foreign tourists, usually touring by car. It is also a major destination for foreign language students, who visit the town for the summer to learn English and see the sights of England. In October 2005, Torquay as part of Torbay chose its first directly elected mayor, Nicholas Bye, under an electoral system which was later described as "a total failure", Bye receiving votes from fewer than 7% of the electorate. He beat Liberal Democrat Nicholas Pannell in the second round