London 2012 blog

Today we’re celebrating 5 years to go until the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We’re lucky enough to have a whole host of sporting celebrities in our borough for the day to mark the countdown with a day of sporting activity. The five year milestone is a great way to celebrate the fact we’ll be hosting the Games and all the opportunities that this brings to our community.

I’ve been passionate about the Games since day one and the five year mark means getting another step closer to achieving the benefits of the Games for local people – the excitement is really building!

Our borough will have brand new facilities: a new urban park on our doorstep, the national hockey centre and other new facilities.

But here in Waltham Forest the Games brings much more than venues and facilities – for us the Games is about people not buildings.

I want local people’s lives to be transformed by the Games: we’re already helping ordinary residents to feel the benefits through our local job and training scheme, increased volunteering opportunities, exciting cultural festivals and new sports programmes.

It’s happening here and we intend to make the most of it!