“The vision we took to Singapore couldn’t have been clearer, and that was to put young people at the heart of the Games. And one of the things that I really take very seriously in all this, is to make sure that education is not just seen as something that is important for the four years of this Olympic project, but that it actually leaves a legacy of changed attitude once we’ve got to 2012 and then on beyond“.

Lord Coe, as Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is determined that the vision that secured the Games is one we all hold dear

“One of the visions we took to Singapore was also very clear, and that was to change attitudes: to change attitudes to sport, to change attitudes to participation, to change attitudes to the way that a host city should be delivering a Games within a sustainable community, to change attitudes through the Paralympic movement, to public attitudes towards disability.”

Here in the East Midlands, in response to that decision in Singapore, various partners met on several occasions and came up with five Legacy objectives for the children and young people of the region:

  • Increased sport and physical activity
  • More volunteering by children and young people
  • Make best use of educational opportunities offered by 2012
  • Children and young people to be fully involved in the Cultural Olympiad
  • Use 2012 to develop and deepen international understanding

The region’s 9 Local Authorities agreed to pool some money for five years from June 2009 - June2014 and to recruit a Legacy Coordinator to deliver to these five objectives. The post holder is hosted by LeicesterShire and Rutland Sports Partnership and works in partnership with the other four County Sports Partnerships, Local Authorities, the East Midlands Development Agency, Arts Council East Midlands and LOCOG. Further partnerships exist with Further and Higher Education bodies, notably Loughborough University whose Sport Park is the base for the Coordinator