With preparations underway for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, what lessons can London learn from the experiences of previous host cities? On 30 March, over 200 delegates including key stakeholders working to promote and deliver the London 2012 legacy and leading experts from other host cities around the world took part in an international conference, Host Cities: Education, Culture and Regeneration, organised by the University of East London.
Sports Minister Richard Caborn, Jude Kelly OBE, Chair of Culture for London 2012, British Paralympics Chief Phil Lane and Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales were among the key speakers at the event, which brought together leading figures in policy and planning, regeneration, further and higher education, the arts, sport and culture at the Excel Centre in London’s Docklands, one of the venues for 2012.
Sports Minister Richard Caborn said: “The Olympics is a fantastic opportunity to bring regeneration to East London and renewed economic balance to our capital. What we now have at UEL, and other universities around the UK, is some of the best centres for sport and exercise science anywhere in the world. It is very important that our universities continue to make a real contribution.”
Jude Kelly, who will take charge of the four-year cultural festival that begins in 2008, urged delegates not to allow an obsession with ’medals and management’ distract from the ideals of the Olympic movement.
“This huge festival of humanity mustn’t become so obsessed with event management, medals and sponsorship that it fails to focus on the idealistic and philosophical origins of the movement. The most profound aspect of the Olympics and Paralympics is the power to take each of us on a personal journey, and inspire us to go beyond what we thought we could achieve.”
Dimitrios Avramopoulos, Greek Health Minister, former Mayor of Athens and founding president of the World Union of Olympic Cities, said: “From my experience as Mayor of Athens and Minister for Tourism, I can tell you that we in Greece worked extremely hard for the 2004 Olympics; we followed our vision, weren’t discouraged by scepticism, and were very happy with the final results. Athens has become a much more functional and attractive city, and its reputation has improved worldwide.
Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, said: “Politicians love a big stage, but if that’s all the Olympics prove to be, they’ll have been a complete waste of time. Newham has 250,000 people and is the most ethnically diverse area of that size on the planet. It’s also the second youngest area in Europe, but unfortunately has the second highest rate of unemployment in the UK.
“The real challenge of the Olympics is to harness the Games as a means of reducing deprivation in our community, and as a way of inspiring our residents to aim higher. The Games offer an exceptional opportunity to dramatically change our society. If we can’t do it now, when will we ever be able to?”
Phil Lane, Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association, said: “I saw first-hand how the Sydney and Athens Paralympics transformed people’s attitudes to disability and hope London 2012 will take this a step further.”
Other speakers at the Host Cities conference included Professor Sir Alan Wilson of the Department for Education and Skills, Dr Louis Lemkow of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and Professor Richard Cashman of Sydney Technology University, whose new book, The Bitter-sweet Awakening: The Legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, was launched at the conference reception.
Professor Michael Thorne, Vice-Chancellor of the University of East London, said: “The challenge is to learn from the experiences of previous host cities, co-ordinate efforts locally and nationally to create the best possible event, and ensure the Games contribute to the social, cultural and economic regeneration of our communities. We are proud to be a part of this process.”
A new book exploring the legacy of Sydney 2000 by Professor Richard Cashman, Director of the Australian Centre for Olympic Studies, will have its international launch on Thursday, 30 March at the Host Cities: Education, Culture and Regeneration conference in London.
The Sydney Olympic Games and Paralympic Games are acclaimed as a success in terms of sport and tourism, but six years on, have the long-term impacts of the Games been positive or negative? And have the promised benefits to the host community been realised?
The Bitter-Sweet Awakening is a pioneering study, providing a broad-ranging analysis of the impacts of the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In this book, Cashman argues that there is a need to capture and document continuing impacts in an Olympic city. This has been recognized by the IOC in its Olympic Games Global Impact program to promote the better organisation and management of future Games.
Professor Cashman said: 'An Olympic Games can produce both positive and negative impacts in a host city. Careful long-term planning and evaluation are essential to ensure worthwhile outcomes. Sustainability, accountability and value for the host community should be at the forefront of all Olympic developments.'
Richard Cashman is Director of the Australian Centre for Olympic Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney. He has published a number of books, including 'Staging the Olympics' (1999), and articles on the staging and legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The Bitter-Sweet Awakening is published by Walla Walla Press with the Australian Centre for Olympic Studies, University of Technology, Sydney.
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Notes for editors: Hardback, Illustrations, Notes, Bibliography $49.95
ISBN 1 876718 90 0 © Walla Walla Press 2006
A limited number of press passes are available. For full details contact Daniel Cherry on 020 8223 2194 / 07725 811 848
Richard Cashman is an Adjunct Professor and Director of the Australian Centre for Olympic Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney. Richard has published a number of books, including 'Staging the Olympics' (1999), and articles on the staging and legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. He has also presented numerous papers on these subjects at international conferences. Before and during the Sydney Olympics, Richard played many related roles, including directing a Centre for Olympic Studies from 1996, organising Olympic forums, teaching, contributing to public debate on the Games, working in the Main Press Centre, writing for the official post-Games Report, and running with the Olympic torch. Richard Cashman is a prolific writer on sports history and sport in culture.
Host Cities: Education, Culture and Regeneration conference, Thursday 30 March 2006 - Excel, London
On 30 March, Sports Minister Richard Caborn, London 2012 Culture chief Jude Kelly OBE and Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales will be among the speakers at an international conference Host Cities: Education, Culture and Regeneration organised by the University of East London at the Excel Centre in London’s Docklands, one of the venues for the 2012 Games.
The successful London 2012 bid includes an ambitious legacy programme. The challenge for all involved is to learn from the experiences of previous host cities, co-ordinate efforts locally and nationally to create the best possible event, and to ensure the Games contribute to the social, cultural and economic regeneration of East London.
The conference brings together key stakeholders working to promote and deliver the London 2012 legacy with leading experts from other host cities around the world. The 180 delegates will include leading figures in policy and planning, regeneration, further and higher education, the arts, sport and culture, tourism and the media.
Speakers include the Rt Hon Richard Caborn, Minister for Sport, Dimitrios Avramopoulos, Greek Health Minister, former Mayor of Athens and founding president of the World Union of Olympic Cities, Professor Richard Cashman of Sydney Technology University, Jude Kelly OBE, Chair of Culture for London 2012, Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham and Professor Sir Alan Wilson of the Department for Education and Skills.
The London East Research Institute the University of East London is undertaking a range of research and consultancy projects around the impact of London 2012 and recently published ‘Carrying the Torch for East London’, an evaluation of local people’s attitudes before and after the IOC announcement.
Professor Bryan Loughrey, Director of Research at UEL, said: “It is vital that London learns from the experiences of other host cities. Barcelona is considered an outstanding success in terms of regeneration, with tremendous public investment sparking an economic boom in the city. Atlanta by contrast was a commercially run games with limited legacy, and though Sydney was a wonderful event, the legacy is only now being properly questioned and evaluated.”
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Notes for editors: A limited number of press passes are available. For full details contact Daniel Cherry on 020 8223 2194 / 07725 811 848
The Rt Hon Richard Caborn, Minister for Sport, will open Host Cities: Education, Culture and Regeneration on 30 March at Excel London.
Other high-profile speakers include: Dimitrios Avramopoulos, Greek Health Minister, former Mayor of Athens and founding president of the World Union of Olympic Cities, Professor Richard Cashman of Sydney Technical University, Jude Kelly OBE, Chair of Culture for London 2012 (LOCOG), Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, and Professor Sir Alan Wilson, Department for Education and Skills.
The conference will bring together key agencies working to promote and deliver the London 2012 legacy with leading experts from Barcelona, Beijing and Sydney and universities across the UK to explore how London can learn from the experience of previous Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
Carrying the Torch debate sheds light and heat on London 2012
What will the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games mean for East London?
Over 80 people gathered at Stratford Town Hall on 7 March for a public debate with speakers including Tessa Sanderson CBE, Councillor Paul Brickell, academics and community workers.
Young people, the environment, democratic accountability for the Games, cycling, and the effect on local businesses were among the issues raised by residents.
Professor Phil Cohen, Director of the London East Research Institute at UEL, presented the findings of Carrying the Torch, an in-depth investigation of local peoples’ attitudes to London 2012.
Professor Gavin Poynter, Head of UEL’s School of Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies, compared the impact of the Games on previous host cities. He said: “Barcelona is the outstanding success story in terms of regeneration, with an estimated 20,000 jobs created in the economic boom that followed. However this required tremendous public investment. In contrast, Atlanta was a commercially run games with limited legacy and although Sydney 2000 was a successful event, the stadia have to some extent become ‘White Elephants’. It is vital that London learns from these experiences.
Councillor Paul Brickell said: “The great power of the Games is to excite people and spark their imagination about where they live and who they are. On the Big Sunday, 32,000 people were attracted by the Olympics to come forward for all sorts of social initiatives like health, fostering and adoption.”
Tessa Sanderson CBE, Talent Development Consultant for Newham 2012 said: “I was lucky enough to compete in six consecutive Olympics and each one brought huge excitement and enthusiasm to the country. It is up to us to create a lasting legacy for local people.”
Anwar Akhtar of the Cultural Industries Development Agency said: “There are great opportunities but local people need to be part of the process in order to create a sustainable long-term legacy.”
Community sports consultant Alan Walsh pointed out that far from creating new facilities, we are actually losing sports grounds, with Manor cricket ground, Drapers Field, the Cycle Track and parts of Hackney Marsh all threatened with closure.
Mike Gillespie, leader of Sports Science at UEL, said: “Sport has a unique ability to enthuse, unite and excite – who could have imagined 6 million Britons would stay up until 3am to watch women’s curling? But to increase participation in sport and create a legacy of healthy living will require a greater effort. We also need to focus on the Paralympics and create more opportunities for disabled people to do sport.”
Andrew Calcutt, Editor of Rising East online, won applause with a challenging attack on policy makers using the idea of ’legacy‘ as an excuse for social engineering. “Let’s just celebrate the games for their own sake instead of pretending they can solve the social problems of East London. We should be good hosts and enjoy an event of sporting excellence, and then get excited about local democracy to tackle our problems.”
Cycling, the environment, democratic accountability for the Games, and the future of Newham’s markets were also among the issues discussed.
A poll of people in Stratford shopping centre conducted on 1 March showed 73% agreed with the statement that the games will have a positive impact on East London, but 56% also agreed with the statement that local people have little say in the process.
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Contact: Patrick Wilson 020 8223 2061 / 07951 797 975
Notes for editors:
The University of East London (UEL) is now rated London’s leading modern (post-1992) university, and among the top five modern universities in the UK, according to the Guardian University Guide 2005/06. UEL is a global learning community, with 19,000 students from over 100 countries world-wide.
Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of our diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.
© 2006
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