Bradshaw promises 2012 legacy 17/12/2009 |
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Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw says the 2012 London Olympics must encourage more people to take up sport to be seen as a success.
In his first interview on sport since taking over from Andy Burnham five months ago, Bradshaw pointed out that governing bodies, who will receive £480m in Sport England funding to drive grassroots sport over the next four years, have a vital role to play.
“It’s important that the focus of the governing bodies is encouraging greater participation, encouraging young people to be active,” he told The Guardian, “which isn’t to say we shouldn’t be chasing medals as well. The two are not mutually exclusive.
“But I wouldn’t want to be in a position where we have an array of gold medals at the Olympics and more armchair sports enthusiasts who are not doing it themselves. That would not be a legacy we could be proud of as a nation. The most important legacy we can have as a nation is to have a fitter, healthier, more active population.”
Some opposition MPs and senior figures in sport have questioned whether 2012 can deliver on its promises to regenerate the East End of London and leave a lasting legacy for sport in this country – but Bradshaw believes the event can achieve everything it set out to do and more.
He said it was “absolutely right that we had an ambitious bid” and added: “If we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have won it. I think the bid is eminently deliverable. In fact, there is no reason why we shouldn’t do even better. There is no reason the Olympics shouldn’t act as a catalyst for all sorts of things.
“It’s right to be ambitious about the Olympics and the potential of them can be even greater than we have yet acknowledged in terms of their impact on people’s lives.”
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