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Over 700 children from the across the UK registered on the London 2012 Children’s Promise scheme celebrate their 5th birthday this Sunday (20th December).
To celebrate the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) invited children in the scheme to witness the incredible progress at the Olympic Park site in East London where the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre are just two of the big five venues that are already taking shape. The children were excited to be invited to dress the London 2012 Olympic Park Christmas tree at the Olympic Park viewing and education venue, the View Tube.
The photos from the day have been made into a special birthday card sent from LOCOG Chair Seb Coe, which all the children registered with Children’s Promise will receive on their birthday. The design for the card is available here.
Attending the Christmas tree dressing were:
• Liam O’Brien - Mullaghbawn, Northern Ireland
• Brooke Conroy – Linthorpe, Middlesborough
• Holly Holt Ramsey – Shepley, Huddersfield, West Yorks
• Max Harris – Dartford, Kent
• Grace Lyster Brown – Stoke Newington, London
• William Talbot – Highgate, London
• Leo Tattal – Muswell Hill, London
• Ben Walker, Plumstead, London
• Valentina Weinstein, London
Photographs of all the children’s dressing the tree at the View Tube are available to download here.
Max Harris, from Dartford in Kent said: “The Olympic Park is brilliant especially with all the diggers! I had great fun decorating the tree with all the other children from around the country.”
Holly Holt Ramsey from Shepley, near Huddersfield, watched the opening of the Beijing Games and Usian Bolt make history on TV, now when Holly saw the London 2012 Olympic Stadium she said, “It makes me want to be an athlete and win a gold medal. I feel special being an Olympic baby and am very excited about being a part of the London 2012 Olympics”.
The View Tube, where the Children’s Promise children decorated the Olympic Park Christmas tree, is a social enterprise and community venue located on The Greenway adjacent to the Olympic Park in East London. It was built using recycled shipping containers and opened in November 2009. It includes a café, education, arts and information spaces and a viewing platform over the Olympic Park and Stratford City.
The Children’s Promise scheme, launched during the bid to host the 2012 Games in 2004, called for Children across the UK who were born on the 20th day of the 12th month (20/12 day), to register with LOCOG to have the opportunity to take part in an event or ceremony surrounding the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Each child will play a special role in welcoming the world at Games time and could take part in one of the Ceremonies including the Opening or Closing Ceremonies, Team Welcome Ceremonies, or in the programme of other events that will light up the UK.
Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: “The children and their families are on the journey with us as we work towards the summer of 2012. I’m delighted they enjoyed their day at the View Tube, which is not only a great viewing platform for the Olympic Park, but also an excellent educational facility for schools and community groups to use. I would like to wish all our Children’s Promise participants a very happy 5th birthday, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”
In 2008 families were invited to upload a photograph of their child playing sport in the t-shirt and special Children’s Promise photo maps have been created.
The Children’s Promise scheme is just one of the many opportunities for people across the UK to be part of the London 2012 Games. In September 2008 LOCOG launched Get Set, the official London 2012 education programme for schools and colleges across the UK.
The Get Set interactive website offers free resources that support 3-19 year olds to explore the Olympic Values of respect, friendship and excellence and the Paralympic Values of courage, determination, equality and inspiration. It also provides young people with a range of opportunities to play their part in London 2012.
Children’s Promise children have been encouraged to get their school signed up to Get Set, and just over a year on from the launch more than 15,000 schools and colleges are participating. To find out more, visit www.london2012.com/getset.
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For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com. Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://blog.london2012.com or follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/london2012team
Notes to editors:
The View Tube
The View Tube is a partnership project between Leaside Regeneration, London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, the Olympic Delivery Authority and Thames Water. For more details please visit the website www.theviewtube.co.uk.
Get Set
Highlights of the ‘Get Set’ website include:
As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are six domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twelve domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, Crystal CG, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, GSK, Holiday Inn, McCann Worldgroup, The Nielsen Company, Populous, Ticketmaster and Trident.
The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos Origin, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Visa.
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