Of course, one of the key ways in which the North East will be involved is by having an Olympic venue - St James’ Park for the Football. The North East is also trying to secure teams to train in the area at some of the excellent facilities when they’re preparing for the Games in those weeks beforehand.
We also talked about the business opportunities for North East companies and looked at half a dozen who’ve already secured contracts. But the main focus is on finding out what opportunities might be forthcoming and how best to alert businesses. We looked in a bit of detail too at how the Personal Best programme is going to be rolled out in the North East, and how it aims to benefit those looking for work by providing training. Those who see the programme through are guaranteed an interview with LOCOG to be a Games-time volunteer.
So business, culture and sport – what else is there? Well after the meeting I sneaked off to the cathedral – wonderful!
