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    Ask London 2012: Two years to go

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    Generation 2012: What have the Olympics ever done for us?

    4th October 2010

    ePolitix.com reports on the 2012 fringe, which looked out how the Olympics will shape the future of Britain's sporting legacy for years to come.

    After a short video documenting where the 2012 Olympics currently stand, Cllr Castle asked the panel just how big the Olympics will be.

    Unsurprisingly, Lord Coe said that the Olympics is and will be a "huge, huge project".

    He also said that it was "crucial" that the games have full government backing and that they are fully on board.

    Castle then asked how difficult it was to handle the transition between governments, and whether this would have any affect on the games.

    Hunt said that there was cross party consensus "from the outset".

    All parties have given an undertaking to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that they will all work together for the benefit of the games as a whole.

    The culture secretary said that there was a "huge responsibility" on government and that the past few months have been somewhat of a "baptism of fire".

    2012 will be first time that the Olympic and Paralympic games will be brought and organised as one, and the panel were asked how this would be managed to ensure that the Paralympics would be distinct from the Olympics themselves.

    Chris Holmes said that there is a great need to make sure that the Paralympics are not lost.

    He said that they needed to be "integrated but distinct."

    Stephanie Creighton from the Fitness Industry Association asked about the recently dropped target to get two million people active by the games.

    Creighton questioned how the government could deliver a "sporting and health legacy" without such targets.

    She added that the government needed to be careful to only make the legacy for young people.

    Hunt spoke of the "unintended consequences" of setting too many "top level" targets.

    He did qualify that participation targets remained, and said that they were a very important part of the Olympic legacy.

    On legacy and youth, the culture secretary said that he felt that ensuring a excellent legacy for the young was a lot more important than ensuring a legacy for anyone else.

    He also announced than in his speech tomorrow, he will be unveiling more plans for the school sport competition outlined in the coalition agreement.

    Castle said that local government actually spends more on sport than the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

    He said that he was also happy to report that participation figures were on the up.

    A number of questions were asked about the future of the Olympic stadium, and whether it would be used to replace Crystal Palace or used as a football stadium.

    Lord Coe said that he did not want to the stadium to become the "white elephant" in London, so is glad that the Olympic Park Legacy Company has taken over the bidding process for post-2012.

    With regret, Coe said that using the stadium simply as a track and field venue would not be financially sustainable, and said that any agreement would have to be "multi-tenancy."

    Although he could not comment on individual applications, Hunt said that the preferred bidder would be announced by Christmas.

    He said that the Legacy Company is looking at "all the options available."

    Chris Holmes stressed the need to retain a disability sport legacy, and outlined the ways in which the Olympic Park will have a disability sport legacy beyond 2012.

    A member of the Youth Parliament asked how the Olympic legacy would be extended out of London to the whole of the UK.

    Coe called the process "essential" and said that the Olympics must be seen as more than a "regeneration of 500 acres of east London.

    Hunt called the Olympic legacy "the single most important role" for him.

    He said that within the tourism strategy announced at the end of the year a part on Olympic legacy will be included.

    He was further pressed on the subject from a representative from the charity StreetGames.

    She said that some people still don't really believe that it is "their games" and questioned how the government could better communicate their strategy.

    From paralympian Chris Holmes said that a key part of what he does is inspiring young people from across the country into disability sport.

    He spoke of the need for a "network" to get them into the sports system.

    Hunt said that 2012 was a chance for the Paralympics to "come alive" and noted the recent announcement of a partnership between Channel Four and specifically the Paralympics.

    There is a need to "use sport as a roadmap to success," Hunt said.

    The leader of Dorset County Council, Angus Campbell, said that the government cannot make mistakes with venues that are away from the centre, and said that they "can't be treated in the same way".

    A representative from Business in Sport and Leisure questioned if there are enough opportunities for young people to play sport, and said that more facilities were needed.

    He did qualify that although he appreciated it will be very difficult to build more facilities with public sector investment; he touted the use of school facilities as an alternative.

    Hunt agreed and said that the government needed to be careful not to duplicate processes, and said that the proposals were interesting.

    Responding to a question by a cabinet member from Northants County Council on working with local authorities, Hunt again stressed the need not to duplicate processes.

    On local tourism, Hunt said that one of the structural problems was that local authorities currently have no incentives to want to increase tourism in their area.

    An audience member from the Royal British Legion Industries asked whether there will be an increase in Olympic procurement in the disabled sector.

    Cllr Castle said that one of the good things about integrating the Olympic and Paralympic games is that it means there will be a lot more procurement from the disabled sector.

    A representative from First Light asked if 2012 would be able to live up to its tag as the first "digital games".

    Hunt commented that the technology budget is the only Olympic budget which is overspending, and said that indicated the "huge investment" in technology.

    The final question referred to the Commonwealth Games, and other large sporting events taking place in the UK in the near future.

    Lord Coe said that it was important that big sporting events are distributed around the world, but was so pleased so that many big sporting events were being held in the UK in the next few years.

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