The London 2012 Games provide the North East with a global opportunity to celebrate its passion for sport and showcase its renowned cultural life, iconic places and talented people – as well as provide a warm welcome to everyone including athletes, tourists and artists.

Planning and delivery
The Games are inspiring participation in sport and physical activity and will leave tangible legacies for current and future generations.

Since 2005 a partnership has come together to deliver a programme of activities that will help the region to gain as many benefits as possible. This has included One North East, Sport England, the Learning & Skills Council, Arts Council England North East, Business Link, Association of North East Councils, all local authorities, all regional destination marketing agencies and Government Office for the North East.

The London 2012 Games have the potential to provide a boost to businesses in North East England, assist in the promotion of North East England to national and international visitors and showcase the region's cultural assets and talented people. The Games will also act as a catalyst to encourage local people to take part in physical activity, and encourage coaching and volunteering activities in sporting and cultural activity.

Newcastle will play host to London 2012 action, with men’s and women’s Football taking place at St James’ Park.

Cultural Olympiad
The Cultural Olympiad is bringing opportunities for people in the region to engage with culture in many different ways. For example, ~Flow is a floating tide mill on the river Tyne that has inbuilt instruments powered by the water, providing insights into music, nature and engineering. Elsewhere, the World Shakespeare Festival has its highest number of events after London and Stratford in the region, such as West Side Story at The Sage Gateshead; and the North East is also hosting a unique installation on Hadrian’s Wall by international interactive media collective YesYesNo.

Find out more about Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival projects taking place in the North East

Pre-Games Training Camps
A total of 20 regional facilities have been included in the London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp guide.

Memoranda of Understanding have been signed between Sri Lanka and Durham University; Grenada and Sunderland University; and Colombia and Gateshead Council. Elsewhere, Newcastle University will be used as a training camp for the teams playing at St James’ Park.

Get Set
Eighty-three per cent of the North East’s schools are registered with London 2012 Get Set. Of these, 59% have joined the Get Set network, giving further access to benefits; this is the fourth highest figure in the country after London and neighbouring regions.

Through the network, 73% of the region’s schoolchildren attend schools that are eligible for the Ticketshare scheme, through which free tickets for the London 2012 Games can be accessed.

Economic legacy
Over £120 million worth of Games-related business has been won by companies in the region: this includes a Gateshead company supplying paint for the Aquatics Centre; two Northumberland companies, one Newcastle and one Sunderland-based company supplying buses and coaches for the Games; and a Tees Valley-based company supplying cranes for the Olympic Park build.

Volunteering
A Personal Best scheme providing training for unemployed and disadvantaged individuals to achieve a recognised qualification in Event Volunteering has taken place in the region. In total, 905 people took part – the highest participation in this scheme of any region – and all of the graduates were put forward as applicants to be Games Makers, the official London 2012 Games volunteers.

Newcastle City Council and Newcastle Volunteer Centre are running the Newcastle Ambassadors scheme – a team of volunteers to help visitors during the Games to get the most out of their time in the city.

Sports participation
Most local authorities have sports participation and healthy lifestyle initiatives inspired by the London 2012 Games, such as Active 500 in Newcastle and Going for Gold in Gateshead. These will leave a lasting legacy of improved fitness and well-being in the region.

Elsewhere, Sport England’s Places People Play initiative is seeing significant investment into sporting and leisure facilities in the region, such as a huge upgrade in facilities at the Birtley Young People’s Club as well as investment in training sports volunteers and coaches.

Contact information
To find out more information on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in the North East, follow @NE2012Games on Twitter or like North East for 2012 Games on Facebook. For enquiries, email sportandculture@ngi.org.uk