One year to go until the games

With only one year to go until the greatest show on earth – the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, the British High Commission and the British Council are celebrating with young leaders who will showcase their leadership skills and values of olympism this Saturday 30 July.

About 45 Young Leaders and 250 peers will be converging at the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) in Lusaka and the whole event will be focussed around cultural values, environment issues, leadership skills and values of olympism.

British High Commissioner Carolyn Davidson said:

“With only one year to go until the eyes of the world are focussed on the London 2012 Olympics, we are getting into the spirit in Zambia by hosting a range of celebratory events to mark milestones to the London 2012 Games, working with the British Council and the National Olympic Committee.

We held a major sporting event for school children in March this year to mark the 500 days countdown to the Games. Last month my husband, Tom Carter, and I joined more than 300 pupils and members of the public from around Lusaka to take part in the 10km fun-run to mark the annual Olympic Day celebrations. Today we are focussing on young leaders.”

Across the world British high commissions and embassies are spreading the word, underlining what a great place the UK is to visit, do business and learn in the lead up to the Olympics and Paralympics.

The British Foreign Secretary William Hague said, “We are encouraging hundreds of thousands of visitors to find out about the Games next year – it is going to be an incredible time in the UK and we are ready to welcome everybody. Events at our global network of posts are helping spread messages about the Games and I am pleased that Lusaka is doing so much to promote the Olympics.”

When London won the bid in Singapore on 6 July 2005 to stage the London 2012 Games, the UK pledged that children and young people around the world would be helped to participate and excel in sport. Zambia was chosen as the first country in Africa to implement the International Inspiration programme aimed at enriching the lives of young people in the long term.

Ends

Notes for Editor

• 27 July marks one year to go until the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London open.

• 15 March 2011 marked 500 days to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. The Games will take place from 27 July – 12 August 2012 in London. London was awarded the privilege of staging the 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games in 2005 in Singapore.

• The British High Commission and the British Council marked the 500 days to the London 2012 Games, at the Olympic Youth Development Centre, on Saturday 19 March 2011. About 500 pupils from various schools in Lusaka took part in the following sports: Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Athletics and Judo. Disciplines of Wheelchair Basketball and Paralympic Athletics were also included.

• The International Inspiration programme was designed to give 12 million children in 20 countries access to high quality and inclusive physical education, sport and play. The programme has already reached more than 7 million children globally and over 300 schools in the UK have built partnerships with counterparts around the world.

• UK Sport, the British Government’s lead body for international sport, alongside partners such as the British Council and British High Commission worked closely with the Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child development, the National Sports Council of Zambia, the National Olympic Committee of Zambia and individual sports bodies throughout Zambia to implement the International Inspiration programme.

• For further information please contact the Press and Public Affairs section at the British High Commission on telephone +260 2111 423200 or visit our website: http://ukinzambia.fco.gov.uk/en or National Olympic Committee of Zambia on telephone +260-211-845641; Fax +260-211-845640; email: nocz@microlink.zm