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<p>The legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games is being felt across the United Kingdom. DCMS recently published an independent report, produced by a consortium led by Grant Thornton, the meta-evaluation of the impacts and legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.</p><p>The report includes the following findings in relation to Northern Ireland:</p><p>The total economic impact of the games on Northern Ireland is estimated at between £380 million and £480 million of gross value added, with total job years created of between 12,300 and 15,600, over the period 2004-20</p><p>Venues in Northern Ireland hosted teams from 100 countries, 1,396 delegates and 10,432 spectators at pre games training camps and competitions.</p><p>52% of schools in Northern Ireland signed up for Get Set, the educational programme managed by LOCOG which developed educational materials based on the Olympic and Paralympic values (and which continues to run under the auspices of the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association)</p><p>77 projects in Northern Ireland were awarded the Inspire Mark (the brand managed by LOCOG which was given to high-quality non-commercial projects inspired by the Games) and 127 local leaders were signed up in Northern Ireland (the local leaders initiative invited volunteers to promote awareness of the games in their communities and organise Olympic and Paralympic celebrations).</p><p>The full meta-evaluation report can be found at:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-5-post-games-evaluation-meta-evaluation-of-the-impacts-and-legacy-of-the-london-2012-olympic-and-paralympic-games</p><p>Examples of legacy-related activity in Northern Ireland include:</p><p>a number of initiatives run by Sport Northern Ireland designed to increase participation, including Activ8, a social marketing campaign aimed at raising awareness among primary school aged children of the importance of taking part in at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day and of eating a healthy and balanced diet; and active communities, a £13.5 million investment over five years employing and training a network of full-time and part-time sports coaches to deliver activities in community and club settings across Northern Ireland</p><p>the 5-star Disability Sports Challenge, run by Disability Sports NI and the Northern Ireland Executive. This innovative project was delivered in primary schools across Northern Ireland, focussing on disability sports and educating young people about disability and the Paralympics, and inspiring more children to become active</p><p>over £40 million worth of London 2012 related contracts were won by over 45 companies in Northern Ireland</p><p>in 2013 NI successfully hosted the 2013 World Police and Fire games and is set to host the Grande Partenza or ‘Big Start’ of the Giro d'ltalia in May 2014</p><p>Northern Ireland has benefitted from both VisitBritain's international campaigns (including GREAT, which continues to maximise the opportunities arising from hosting the 2012 games) and VisitEngland's Holidays at Home Are GREAT campaigns, and will continue to do so</p><p>Salto Gymnastics Club in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, is an example of a club and facility that supports both community and elite use—it also hosted the Olympic gold-winning Chinese men's team as their pre-games training camp.</p><p>Lord Coe visited the club earlier this year and said:</p><p>“This gymnastics club captures the essence of the last 10 years. This club is quintessentially why I went to Singapore and that's why I've come back here because now we are starting the second half of the Olympic journey, to be inspired by 2012.”</p><p>I have not had any discussions with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive about enhancing the games’ legacy for Northern Ireland, but I would be happy to do so.</p> |