Diversity Week gives London 2012 the opportunity to showcase how it is building diversity and inclusion into all of its work, look back on the achievements over the past 12 months and outline some of the forthcoming challenges for the coming year.

The week kicks off with ‘Everyone’s 2012’ conference, which will raise awareness of London 2012’s work in areas including volunteering, procurement, community relations and service delivery and the opportunities which are available for communities across the UK.

Other activity planned around the week include:

• A ‘Women in Construction’ taster day to celebrate International Women’s Day which includes a roundtable discussion

• The Olympic Delivery Authority Contractor Diversity Awards 2010 to recognise and celebrate the efforts made by contractors on the Olympic Park to promote equality

• The launch of the Get Ahead 2010 programme which gives young people the chance of a lifetime to join LOCOG in a permanent paid role

• The screening of Memory Marathon – a film about a man’s 26 mile journey through the five Host Boroughs accompanied by over 100 local residents

• Sports demonstrations of women’s Boxing and Boccia

• An employment opportunities fair for the BAME community

• A business event highlighting opportunities for catering, cleaning and waste SMEs in the five Host Boroughs to get involved with London 2012

• Workshops on a range of topics including access and inclusion and opportunities for the LGBT community

Some of the measures already underway to ensure the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are accessible to all include:

• The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) becoming the first organisation in the UK to attain the Gold Standard from Diversity Works for London
• Integrating an inclusive spectator experience into the design of venues, and ensuring that all venues are being designed to excellent accessibility standards;
• Ensuring employment and training opportunities are advertised amongst minority communities and local people through our job brokerage scheme supported by Jobcentre Plus and local labour schemes
• Through London 2012’s CompeteFor system, businesses of all sizes and locations across the UK have been encouraged to bid for contracts
• LOCOG achieving the intermediate level of the Equality Standard for Sport which demonstrates our commitment to diversity and equality in sport
• The Olympic Delivery Authority achieving the Bronze award from the Employers Forum on Disability Standard.

Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: “We have always been clear – we want London 2012 to be ‘Everyone’s Games’ and inspiring change through the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games was a cornerstone of our bid. To deliver change, LOCOG must continue to recruit and retain a diverse workforce. LOCOG is set to double in size this year as planning for the staging the London 2012 Games intensifies and we want to attract the very best talent from all our communities to join us.”

Olympic Delivery Authority Chair John Armitt said: “Diversity was at the heart of London’s winning bid for the Games and remains at the centre of the project. The areas around the Olympic Park in east London are amongst the most diverse in the country and we are working hard to ensure that local people are able to access training and employment opportunities. A fifth of the current Olympic Park workforce lives in one of the five local boroughs. Working with our contractors we are also breaking down some of the barriers and stereotypes that have traditionally existed in the construction industry, for example our ‘Women in Construction’ project has seen 129 women placed into work on the site.”

– Ends –

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/london2012

Notes to editors: 

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 thirteen domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, Crystal CG, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, GSK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, 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.