On 13 November 09 The West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games welcomed Paul Deighton, Chief Executive of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to the Heart of England, West Midlands region to spend a day in the life of 2012 activity in the region.
Paul Deighton joined key representatives of the Leadership Group to visit a number of 2012 inspired projects and programmes, representing the West Midlands key themes of Business, Sport, Volunteering, Tourism and Culture, showcasing there are hundreds of ways that people in the region can be at the heart of the Games themselves, right here, right now!
Building on the stories celebrating the 1000 days to go milestone reached on 31 October 2009 and the special visit to the Olympic Park by key representatives from the region on 4 November, Paul Deighton’s visit to a range of West Midlands projects demonstrated how easy, engaging and exciting 2012 activity in the Heart of England, West Midlands region is for people of all ages. Projects visited included:
One of a series of 2012 Business Awareness Workshops aimed at equipping West Midlands businesses with the knowledge, information and skills they require to successfully compete for 2012 tender opportunities. The workshops are hosted by Business Link West Midlands, delivered by West Midlands Chamber of Commerce and funded by Advantage West Midlands.
The Personal Best programme, backed by a government initiative called 2012 Games Inspirations, is offering to train up to 400 people in the West Midlands who are out of work or socially disadvantaged in order to raise their skills and improve their employability. After gaining new skills, graduates will also have a chance to apply to become one of the UK’s 70,000 Games Time Volunteers.
Festival of Sport, which will see every child in year 7 (12 year olds) from schools signed up to the London 2012 ‘Get Set’ education programme across Coventry have the opportunity to experience a variety of different Olympic and Paralympic sports throughout the academic year. Pupils on the 13 November tried out Olympic and Paralympic ball sports delivered by qualified coaches in association with the relevant National Governing Bodies. Festival of Sport is being delivered by the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership 2012 Games, NHS Coventry, Coventry School Sports Partnership and Coventry Sports Foundation and has been awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark.
People Dancing StreetCheer project is aimed at getting 14 – 16 year old girls across the region cheerleading. This project is part of the national StreetGames Legacy Leaders programme which has been awarded the Inspire Mark recognising the project as part of the official London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the national celebration of culture inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to the UK. People Dancing, part of the West Midlands’ Culture Programme for London 2012, is funded by the Legacy Trust UK, Arts Council England West Midlands and Advantage West Midlands.
Paul Deighton, Chief Executive of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), said: “With 984 days to go until the start of the 2012 Olympic Games, I was thrilled to visit Worcester, Coventry and Warwickshire on 13 November to meet some of the many people who are inspired by, benefiting from and helping deliver the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“The West Midlands is making great headway in seeking opportunities from the 2012 Games. Success breeds success and I urge everyone to keep up the momentum.”
Cllr Chris Saint, Chair of the West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games, said: “The London 2012 Games are about more than just sport and about more than just London. The projects we visited provided a snap shot of 2012 activity already underway in the West Midlands, the Leadership Group was proud to welcome Paul Deighton to the region to showcase this activity and demonstrate the many ways people can have their own ‘Olympic Moment’ right here, right now in the region.”
Nigel Russell, Head of Tourism Culture and Olympics for Advantage West Midlands, said: “At Advantage West Midlands, the host organisation for the Leadership Group, we are working with a range of partners to ensure we maximise the opportunities London 2012 presents for the region against out five thematic areas of Business; Volunteering; Culture; Tourism and the regional image of the region; sport and physical activity. It is great to be working alongside these partners to showcase the region’s wealth of 2012 activities to Olympics Chief, Paul Deighton.”
With 984 days until the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Paul Deighton’s visit demonstrated that thousands of people from the region are already at the heart of the Games themselves right here, right now!