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Plans for the mass participation legacy from London 2012 are unveiled

16 November 2010

‘Places People Play’ will bring the sporting legacy to life in communities across the country, answering London 2012's Singapore promise to inspire a new generation to play sport.

The £135m initiative has been made possible by the Government's National Lottery reforms, which are bringing additional funding into grassroots sport.

‘Places People Play’ will be delivered by Sport England, in partnership with the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA) with the backing of The London Organising Committee of
the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the London 2012 Inspire Mark.

It will aim to encourage more people to get involved in sport in the following ways:

Places

The places where people play sport will be transformed, making the benefits of London 2012 visible in cities, towns and villages across the country by:

• Upgrading up to a thousand local sports clubs and facilities

• Investing in a number of iconic multi-sport facilities that set the standards for future facilities development

• Protecting and improving hundreds of playing fields across the country, preserving high-quality spaces for local people to play and enjoy sport.

These facilities will be the only ones to carry the London 2012 Inspire Mark, a permanent celebration of their role in the legacy of the Games.

People

People will be inspired to make sport happen at the local level, embedding the Olympic and Paralympic values in grassroots sport, by:

• Recruiting, training and deploying 40,000 sports leaders as the next generation of sports volunteers to organise and lead grassroots sporting activities.

Play

Sporting opportunities and challenges will be created that give everyone the chance to become part of the mass participation legacy, through:

• Gold Challenge - an independent initiative that will motivate over 100,000 adults to test themselves in multiple Olympic and Paralympic sports, and in doing so raise millions of pounds for charity

• Sportivate - a nationwide campaign that will capture the excitement of sport, providing opportunities for teenagers and young adults to receive six weeks of coaching in the sport of their choice and guiding them into regular participation within their community.

Disabled people and those who support them will also be consulted on how additional investment - at least £8m – can be focussed on tackling the barriers they face when they want to play sport, as well as making sure that every element of this programme works for disabled sportsmen and women too.

Hugh Robertson said: "This is the cornerstone of a grassroots legacy from hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, because it delivers on the bid pledge of enabling more people of all ages and abilities to play sport. With more Lottery money being invested in facilities, volunteering and protecting and improving playing fields, there will be opportunities for everyone to get involved. When people talk about the legacy of the Games, we want them to talk about ‘Places People Play’ - and then we want them to get out there and join in."

Sport England's Chief Executive, Jennie Price, said: "We can't all be Olympians or Paralympians, but with great local facilities, inspirational sports leaders on the ground and sporting challenges to suit everyone, we can all be part of the mass participation legacy of the Games.”