The West Midlands region is truly at the heart of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
From the historic market town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire – which was instrumental in the founding of the modern Olympic Movement – to Football Host City Coventry and the nation’s second city Birmingham, the West Midlands is embracing London 2012 and the opportunities it brings the region.
Planning and delivery
The West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games was set up to coordinate the region’s response to London 2012. The Leadership Group brings together key representatives from each of the region’s six sub regions and from business, sport, culture, tourism, education and skills, as well as the Youth Parliament, disability interests and Government agencies.
Its vision is to raise the profile of the region and provide the inspiration for a legacy of opportunity for individuals, communities and businesses.
We are working hard to ensure we celebrate the distinctiveness of the West Midlands region and are focused on where we can make a real difference, shining nationally and internationally.
Olympic Torch Relay
The Olympic Flame will visit 73 communities across the West Midlands, stopping overnight in Worcester, Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham and Coventry. The Olympic Torch Relay will shine a spotlight on some of the West Midlands’ finest cultural destinations including Ironbridge Gorge and The Black Country Living Museum – where the Flame will travel by tram and canal barge – and will pay tribute on National Armed Forces Day to our fallen heroes at the National Memorial Arboretum.
Cultural Olympiad
The West Midlands is also fully embracing, and in some cases shaping, the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
The World Shakespeare Festival, which is part of the London 2012 Festival, will celebrate the work of the world’s most famous playwright on an enormous scale with performances across the UK, including Birmingham and the Bard’s birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon.
The innovative and inspiring West Midlands Community Games programme, which has already engaged 165,000 people in communities throughout the region, has recently been awarded a £2 million grant to be rolled out across England.
In addition to these opportunities, people across the West Midlands are also dancing in celebration of London 2012 through Dancing for the Games, singing and cycling as part of Godiva Awakes, and will witness world-class performances through spectacular London 2012 Festival events such as The Voyage.
The West Midlands is determined to ensure that, through these programmes, events and opportunities, every person across the region gets involved with London 2012. It is also encouraging those who participate to share their experiences through their Inspire mark campaign, The Games and Me, as a way of inspiring others and recording the West Midlands’ legacy of London 2012 as a piece of social history.
Pre-Games Training Camps
In the weeks leading up the Games the West Midlands will play host to some of the greatest athletes on earth as the USA and Jamaica track and field teams set up their London 2012 training camps in Birmingham. Elsewhere, the small Caribbean island of Dominica will base their Boxing team in Wolverhampton.
Contact information
For more information on any of the West Midlands programmes, campaigns and events visit www.wmfor2012.com. To record your own London 2012 experiences in the region go to www.facebook.com/thegamesandme
