2013: Planning the Sporting Legacy of the London Olympics

London’s bid to host the Olympics in 2012 is well under way. The proposals for the financing of the Games, regeneration of East London, and the economic benefits for London in terms of tourism, jobs, housing and transportation have had many column inches devoted to them over the past few months. However the most important opportunity an Olympics will bring to this country has not had as much attention; and that is the opportunity to leave a long lasting legacy in terms of sporting development.

The focus of this paper is 2013, and what happens once London’s Olympics and Paralympics are over in terms of the sporting legacy the Games will leave for Britain. The extinguishing of London’s Olympic flame in August 2012 should not be the finale to this Country’s engagement with the Olympics, but just the beginning.

This paper from Sportsthinktank.com puts to those responsible for running sport and staging the Olympics a number of proposals and targets as the absolute fundamental blocks of the sporting legacy London’s Olympics must deliver for the UK.


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