By ‘Championing the East Midlands’ we will create a lasting economic, social and sporting legacy for the region from the London 2012 Games.
Planning and delivery
Jeff Moore, Chair of the East Midlands Steering Group for the 2012 Games:
'The East Midlands is committed to playing its part in helping deliver an inspirational Games. We want to provide opportunities for all our citizens to engage with London 2012. This could be through volunteering, winning contracts to supply goods or services, or through enjoying the wide-ranging Cultural Olympiad programme.’
County level Steering Groups from across the East Midlands are working with a range of partners and the East Midlands Coordinator for the Games, Tracy Croft, to secure a legacy for the region from London 2012. Activity is focused across six key activity areas: business, children & young people, culture, health, sport and the visitor economy.
Olympic Torch Relay
Seventy-three communities in the East Midlands will be part of the Olympic Torch Relay as the Flame passes through the region from 27–30 June and from 2–4 July. Four evening celebration events are being held – in Lincoln (27 June), Nottingham (28 June), Derby (29 June) and Leicester (2 July).
Cultural Olympiad
Igniting Ambition is the East Midlands’ unique contribution to the Cultural Olympiad.
The programme began with events on 25 August 2008 at Live Sites in Derby and Leicester to mark the handover from Beijing 2008. This was followed by a three day-outdoor arts festival, the Derby Feste, to mark the launch of the Cultural Olympiad in September 2008.
In 2009 a ten-day festival of culture was developed to accompany the staging of the GB Special Olympics in Leicester, while the following year 30 projects were commissioned to be delivered across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.
Twenty-seven projects were commissioned and developed in 2011 across Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, as well as a region-wide arts and environment partnership, Breath of Fresh Air.
Find out more about London 2012 Festival and Cultural Olympiad projects in the East Midlands
Pre-Games Training Camps
Twenty-nine venues and facilities in the East Midlands are registered as Pre-Games Training Camps, and 12 of these are also registered as Paralympic Pre-Games Training Camps.
A number of high-profile teams have chosen the East Midlands to prepare for London 2012, including Team GB; the Japanese Olympic team, who will be using the facilities at Loughborough University; the Israeli Swimming team, who will be utilising the 50-metre swimming pool at Corby East Midlands International; and 50 members of the Egyptian Paralympic team, who will be using two Pre-Games Training Camps in Lincoln and Boston.
Inspire
A total of 225 sporting, educational and other community projects in the East Midlands have been awarded a London 2012 Inspire mark. Examples include:
Street Racing – Nottingham City Council used the power of sport to engage young people to try athletics on a 60-metre running track in Nottingham’s Market Square.
My Games My Legacy – Leicestershire and Rutland Sports Partnership established this record-breaking project which saw over 2,012 pledges from participants across the East Midlands, detailing how individuals will create a lasting legacy from the Games.
The Movement – Derby County in the Community have put together an innovative programme of sport, music and dance to increase participation amongst inactive boys and girls through a series of public dance workshops.
Soundsport – SoundLINCS and the Lincolnshire Sports Partnership have jointly delivered a project which offers live impromptu workshops with an international flavour at sporting events, via an eye-catching seven foot musical junk sculpture.
Get Set
To date, 82.8% schools in the East Midlands have signed up to the Get Set programme to bring the values of the Games to life for their pupils. 1,346 of the 1,906 schools registered also joined the Get Set network in time to be eligible for tickets to the Games through the Ticketshare programme.
Economic legacy
We estimate that over £390 million of Games contracts have been won by businesses in the East Midlands. Over 40 businesses have played a role in the construction of the iconic London 2012 Olympic Park:
- Tarmac Precast Concrete Ltd (Stamford), Grantham Fabrication and Profiling Services (Grantham), Patterns and Moulds Ltd (Loughborough) and Sidebottom Richardson Cheng Ltd (Spalding) have provided precast concrete terrace units for the Olympic Stadium.
- Goodmarriott & Hursthouse Ltd of Nottingham provided mechanical and electrical support for the Velodrome.
- Hewden Stuart PLC from Leicester provided roof cladding for the Aquatics Centre.
- Aspex Ltd from Leicester provided ironmongery for the Olympic and Paralympic Village.
- Evans Concrete Ltd from Alfreton, Derbyshire has provided precast concrete across a number of venues within the Olympic Park.
- Aggregate Industries from Croft, Leicestershire has won multiple contracts to supply surfacing, aggregate and ready mixed concrete across the Olympic Park.
Contact information
For all enquiries about the East Midlands’ plans to make the most of the 2012 Games, email eastmidlands@london2012.com
Further information about 'Championing the East Midlands' can be found at www.emda.org.uk/london2012
