KENT NEWS: Two years from now the eyes of the world will be on the UK as the Olympic Games return to London after 62 years.
To start the countdown, an official launch took place at the Olympic Park in east London on Tuesday, giving a taste of what to expect when the biggest sporting event in the world comes to the capital in 2012.
As a bordering county, Kent will feature prominently during the Olympics and Paralymics, with 37 training camps for thousands of competitors.
They include Margate beach which will provide training facilities for volleyball teams; Brands Hatch for cyclists; and Ashford’s Julie Rose Stadium for athletes.
Cllr Mike Hill, cabinet member for communities at Kent County Council, said the authority was working to maximise the benefits through tourism and business.
“We’ve done a lot already,” he said. “We have contracts worth £20 million and expect more to come. But the most important thing is to raise enthusiasm for participation in sport.
“We’re already doing this through the Kent School Games which is going national. That is the legacy.”
Cllr Hill said KCC was also focusing on the Cultural Olympiad which will showcase arts and culture.
Asked how much the Olympics and Paralympics could bring to the county, Cllr Hill said: “The Open golf in Sandwich next year is estimated to bring £70m through investment. That’s bringing in a quarter of a million people.
“If you look at it on that scale, then we should bring in a substantial amount through tourism and business.
“Our location is good. We are very close to the Games and also close to the Continent for people coming across the Channel.”
To celebrate the countdown and to mark the close links with Kent, sporting, cultural and art events took place as part of the Open Weekend challenge last week.
Residents were given the opportunity to take part in activities ranging from belly-dancing to speed drawing.
Sport and Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said it was a great opportunity for residents to get involved.
The MP for Faversham and Mid Kent was at the launch of the two-year countdown at the Olympic Park, alongside London Mayor Boris Johnson and former athlete and chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) Lord Coe.
Mr Robertson said: “Two years to go and London 2012 is in excellent shape. The construction phase is 70 per cent complete and the LOCOG has attracted an unprecedented level of sponsorship and captured the hearts and minds of children with the launch of mascots Wenlock and Mendeville.
“We are making real strides in developing a meaningful sports legacy, which will be announced in the autumn.”
Tuesday’s launch was also part of a campaign to invite volunteers to help out at the Games.
“We enter another new phase of London 2012 – bringing the Great British public on board,” said Mr Robertson.
“Volunteers are the heartbeat of every Olympic and Paralympic Games and crucial to their success. We need skilled and passionate people who have the commitment to make 2012 the best ever.”
Organisers need 70,000 volunteers for the Games. Cllr Hill said thousands were already on the Kent database.
In Medway, hundreds of people marked the countdown with a one-mile fun run in Rochester.
They were joined by Paul Nihill, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist in the 50km walk, and Liz McVeigh, a member of the women’s rowing team in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, both of whom live in Chatham.
• To sign up as an Olympics volunteer, go to www.london2012.com/volunteering.
POSTED: 31/07/2010 15:00:00
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