London 2012 - the legacy of "inspiring a generation"

London 2012 – the legacy of "inspiring a generation"

It had been 7 years since winning the bid, and resulted in 10,500 athletes competing in 26 sports and 302 medal winning events. There were 34 venues around the United Kingdom, with approximately 9 million tickets sold, and some 20,000 contracts with media companies and broadcasters. All for an event that happens every 4 years, for 3 weeks ... so didn’t London do well for the 2012 Olympics? The spectacles of both the opening and closing ceremonies were matched by fantastic performances on the track, in the pool and on the road, but now the real challenge begins with the London 2012 Olympic legacy. How likely is it for the legacy to be as successful in real life as it appears on paper?

It is all well and good reflecting back on the apparent success of London 2012, which is said to have been an end to a remarkable 18 months of history for Great Britain – the Royal Wedding and The Diamond Jubilee are included. However, the actual games were only the start and now the big question is whether or not Britain will use the income and hype generated through this global event to invest into a new generation of sportsmen and women.

As part of the proposal plan, the legacy focused primarily on the grass roots of sports and physical activity, aiming to improve the availability of sport and organized activities to everyone regardless of race, education, social class, gender and geography. Various community and school projects have been created with the assistance of governing bodies to ensure that no one is left out in feeling the benefits created by the Olympics. However, will it really be possibly for London 2012 to achieve everything they initially set out to achieve?

Although the entire East End of London area has been rebranded, thus creating a safer environment for residents, and the athlete village could potentially become housing for trainee nurses, large companies have already purchased stadiums for established football and rugby teams. Indeed these are all positive outcomes, but measures need to be taken to ensure that commercialization and businesses do not come ahead of the initial grass roots plan. Part of the reason as to why London was awarded the 2012 games was because of its idea to “Inspire a Generation” and so this should be kept in mind. The next generation are more likely to benefit from having experienced coaches, high standard facilities, and good education in comparison to a football club profiting from ticket and merchandise sales.

Alex V.

T/Thur 9.30-10.45am