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Boris reveals his 2012 vision
Pippa Crerar, Evening Standard27.08.08
Boris Johnson today promised "tens of millions of pounds" will be spent on coaching young people to create a true Olympic legacy.
Speaking before he flew home from Beijing after Britain's most successful Games, the Mayor outlined his vision to help the stars of the future.
He said London 2012 would see even more Team GB success if young Londoners were inspired to take up a sport and dedicate themselves to it.
Mr Johnson added: "We are totally dedicated to it. I want to ring-fence London Development Agency money for sport and that means not just investing in facilities but also investing in the mentoring and the tuition that are so important for long-term success.
"You can have the facilities but if you don't invest in the people to train and give people encouragement, it's not going to work. Sporting opportunity can be part of an early intervention strategy that tackles child poverty and under-achievement.
"I hope a new generation of London children will be enthused, inspired and get involved in sport in a way that they're not now. I want there to be a massive sporting legacy."
The money will be spent on providing coaching, mentoring and training facilities for grassroots sports organisations. It will primarily be focused on small-scale projects which are already operating successfully and could be expanded across the capital.
Mr Johnson will work in partnership with councils to pay for projects as diverse as resurfacing tennis courts, transporting children to their nearest swimming pool, expanding martial arts clubs in community centres and building new sporting facilities.
Asked whether the LDA investment for sport would be worth tens of millions of pounds, the Mayor replied: "Of course".
The overall budget for the LDA - the organisation which aims to boost business and jobs in the city - for the coming year is £528million.
The LDA has already started getting more young people into sport with its Summer of Sports programme which offers more than 600 free events across the capital with training provided by the official sporting bodies.
Investment in facilities is also under way. The Government has pledged £520million, £300million from the lottery and £220million from the taxpayer, for sport for 2012 - twice the amount invested in the run-up to the Beijing Games.
The Mayor was flying home today with the Olympic flag and members of Team GB, including gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu who said: "I'm looking forward to going home and to my own bed, I'm absolutely knackered."
Mr Johnson admitted feeling excited, saying: "Do you think I should kiss the ground? It's going to be great and I'm totally amazed how I ended up in this role but it makes me feel incredibly proud."
Mr Johnson said the success of Beijing had a "big role" in persuading critics of the Olympics at home that they would be a good thing for the capital. However, he accepted there would be "ups and downs" in the run-up to 2012 as the Games became the hot political issue.
"Over the next four years you're going to see a roller-coaster. The Beijing Games has educated and generated huge enthusiasm in Britain but it has also partially educated lots of people about lots of the issues so there's going to be lots more political awareness of disputes," he warned.
"Olympic subjects are going to be moving up the political agenda and there will be an awful lot of sound and fury about this or that over the next four years."
The Mayor insisted the Tories would be "100 per cent behind" the Olympics should they win the next general election.
He denied there could be problems if Tory leader David Cameron tried to " muscle in" on the preparations and take personal control. "I think we'll be fine. On the muscling in front, let's cross that bridge when we come to it. If you look at the way it's already working on the Olympic Board, it's pretty good, there's a very large measure of co-operation."
Mr Johnson said he would like to keep Olympics minister Tessa Jowell involved if she lost her job at the next election.
"I certainly think it would be a shame to lose her commitment and her expertise entirely but we'd have to think of some solution there," he said.
The Mayor, who has claimed he would not be "intimidated" by the scale and expense of the Beijing Games, said he was "absolutely determined" to keep within budget. However, he accepted that London did not have the spending power of the Chinese capital.
"There was a wonderful moment in the middle of the closing ceremony when Seb Coe turned to me after about five fireworks had gone off and said that's half our budget gone," he said.
Although Beijing has been praised for its spectacular venues and impressive logistics, Mr Johnson singled out the spectator experience for criticism.
Visitors have also commented on the lack of carnival spirit - something which London is expected to excel at.
"It's been eye-opening. I'm convinced from this that we can do a Games that is just as good, in our own way, if not better," he said. "I don't think you need to go above £9.3billion to produce a fantastic, memorable and spectacular Games."
Mr Johnson said his trip to China had persuaded him that 2012 would have to be an Olympics for the whole country - not just the capital.
"One thing we are going to be working hard to do over the next few years is to get across the message that this isn't just London's Games, these are Britain's Games, and I feel that very strongly," he said.
"Team GB comes from all over the place and they've done the most amazing job in Beijing. This is about everybody in the country. I want the Games to be a moment where the nation comes together."
However, while the benefits to China of hosting the Games have been obvious - it has been described as the most successful PR operation in the country's history - Mr Johnson struggled to define how the UK as a whole would benefit from London 2012.
The benefits to the capital were more obvious - a "fantastic" celebration of sport, the accompanying sporting legacy and the regeneration of the East End.
The Mayor has previously criticised Olympics chiefs for failing to come up with a legacy master plan for the site while business groups have been concerned at the lack of leadership of the project.
In response, he announced that a legacy advisory board, comprised of experts, the boroughs and local people, would be set up next month to help drive the regeneration plans forward.
The handover from Beijing to London as host city was celebrated by thousands who gathered in The Mall for a concert featuring medal winners including American Michael Phelps and Londoner Bradley Wiggins.
THE MAYOR ON ...
OLYMPIC CAR LANES
"There is an issue with Olympic lanes [for athletes and dignitaries] and Transport for London have been here in Beijing looking at what they've done. Our job is to put on a fantastic Games and to get people from A to B without delay. Don't forget that I'm standing for re-election, or might be standing for re-election, in the run-up to the Olympic Games. You can't paralyse the streets of London and we're not going to."
SPECTATORS
"Although it's been a fantastic Games, it's been quite difficult to work out what's going on where. I think we can do better. There's an awful lot we can do with hand-held devices. You can actually go into the London Games in 2012 and have stuff telling you what's going on where."
REGENERATION
"I've no doubt that one of the reasons the [International Olympic Committee] gave us the Games was because they saw that at the East End of this fantastic city there was a crying need for investment and a site that has been neglected for decades will be transformed. It will benefit a large part of east London and will help to reorientate the city."
BEIJING HIGHLIGHTS
"You've got to say, an Olympics where someone breaks the record for the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the relay - that's an extraordinary Games. But the thing I saw that made me want to weep most - the lump in the throat stuff - was [gold medal winner] Christine Ohuruogu because this is a girl from London who is running 400 metres faster than anybody else. And it's open to any place on earth to provide facilities to run 400 metres and yet we did it in London. I thought that was unbelievable."
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Although living out of London I'm still involved in coaching in Redbridge. Part of the comment about teaching/coaching is true, but unless we have the facilities available for people to use then we won't get far. Football is easy, you just need an open space, sports like swimming or diving need a specialised and expensive facility. Without this investment in facilities at a local level, not only can you not get the coaches, no one can try the sport either. Diving especially has suffered, losing over 90% of it's facilities in the last 30 years. Most of Londoners can't get to a pool with diving boards they can use within the accepted 20 minute travelling time.
But, even worse, the facilities there are remaining are under such pressure that it's not possible to gain sufficient access to them to enable training to a good level. When I started coaching 28 years ago I could go with kids to five pools in a reasonably local area plus Crystal Palace. I was coaching to national championship level. Now I can access only 1 pool for 1 1/2 hours a week (soon to become 1 hour), Crystal Palace is out of the question as it's a 2 hour journey. I now coach to, at best, local novice level.
Add to that the decline in accessibility and the local youth have only three hours a week when the diving boards are available as again it's nearly 60hours when I started.
Get kids into sport??
- John Whitby, Peterborough, Cambs
My thoughts are that Boris is someone who thinks of himself first and others last. I fear that his rather stupid welcome to London show at the end of the 2008 Olympics, the rain, tossing newspapers away will just portray London in a bad light.
- Jaberwokie3, switzerland
Best wish to London!
- Climber Qin, Beijing, China
