"Technicians believe the arrival of Olympic teams on Monday sparked a flood of new customers"

One Londoner said: “It happened almost as soon as the teams got here. Either loads of athletes were logging on to meet fellow Olympians or were looking to bag a local.

“The Grindr system obviously couldn’t cope. It took 24 hours for the app to get back up and running, much to the relief of all concerned.”

The site was launched in 2009 and claims to have four million customers worldwide.

London is the most popular city for the app, with 350,000 registered users. The website ­advertises itself as a way to find “a new date, ­buddy or friend”.

Founder Joel Simkhai said in Los Angeles: “I want to personally ­apologize to users.

“I know it was ­frustrating. I was ­frustrated myself. I also rely on Grindr in my day-to-day personal life. It made me feel disconnected.

Read More | "Gay app Grindr crashes as Olympic athletes arrive in London" | Keir Mudie | ?The People