A sporting hub in the United Kingdom, many of the national Inspire projects started in the North West and have since been rolled out to other parts of the country. The region will host the Olympic Football matches at Old Trafford.
We have more than 335 projects across our six Inspire themes happening in the North West.
Inspire people
Ben Brown, the Balloons project
The Balloons project is a multi-sensory music and education project inspired by a poem that Ben wrote when he was eight. The purpose of the project is to inspire people to achieve their dreams, goals and beliefs. The Olympic and Paralympic Values are the themes and inspiration for this project’s shows, art, music, drama, and dance at Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).
What has been your greatest achievement so far?
The feedback that we get from the young people that enjoy being part of Balloons and from the parents who think it is really working. We’ve engaged with over 300 people on our education programme and more than 13,000 people have listened to the music (which is inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic Values) that we have produced on our SoundCloud and Myspace pages.
Will your project continue after the London 2012 Games?
Yes, it will! I am determined to make it continue. We are setting it up as a community interest company with a view to raising money for charities in the area. The education side of the programme is fun and it works so we think that is sustainable.
What does it mean to you to be part of the Inspire programme?
It is great for many reasons. The connection to the Games makes us feel a part of this massive thing which is so much bigger than just what we do. That has helped us so much. All the support that the Inspire programme and Sarah, our Inspire Programmer, has given us. It has given us great recognition.
Inspire projects
Blaze
Project organiser:Lancashire County Council
Theme: Culture
Blaze is a fantastic Inspire project that supports young people to take the lead as producers and innovators through a training and development programme, which has strong links with the cultural and creative industries across the North West region.
Blaze gets young people from across Lancashire creating new work which makes links between culture and sport. In 2012 the project will present Blaze Festival North West, the North West’s first youth-inspired and -produced festival of culture, sport, music and art.
Running Rings
Project organiser: The Mersey Forest
Theme: Sustainability
Running Rings gives people in the Mersey Forest area the opportunity to get involved in the Games right on their doorstep. The project’s challenge is to create exciting places where communities can get active and stay healthy. The aim is to leave a local legacy of great spaces for people to enjoy long after the 2012 Games have passed.
The project will create new Ring Routes – woodland trails and tracks for green exercise, where people can amble, walk, run and plant trees with communities and schools in Merseyside and North Cheshire
The project honours the return of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the UK after 64 years. It celebrates the myriad Olympians from the Mersey Forest area and the area’s love of sport, and also provides a wide range of long term health and environmental benefits.
For more information, contact the Inspire Programmer in North West
