I wish to inform Members of the Assembly on the plans and ambitions for Northern Ireland participating and benefiting from the Games and to set out how we will ensure delivery.
The UK has committed to deliver an Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012 which aims to be a successful and inspirational World sporting event for athletes and the viewing public. The benefits arising from the Games are potentially far-reaching. They include not only sports but also the economic boost that will benefit the whole of UK in terms of increased investment, training and jobs, as well as participation in a range of cultural and educational opportunities brought by the Cultural Olympiad.
The Games will also have a big impact in raising community and national pride and help raise Northern Ireland and the UK’s international profile. Having the Games take place on our own doorstep presents a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of us. The extent to which Northern Ireland benefits from this opportunity will depend entirely on the level of our engagement.
Our Vision for Northern Ireland’s participation is to get more young people involved in sport and physical activity at domestic and international level; it is about increasing our success at major World-class events; it is about creating better sporting infrastructure – both in terms of facilities and in terms of coaching and development; and it is about maximising the economic and social impact for Northern Ireland. Ultimately, it is about leaving a lasting legacy for our future generations, as a result of the Games.
We have set ourselves some challenging targets. We want Northern Ireland to host part of the Torch Relay for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and we will work to secure at least 10 Olympic or Paralympic teams to pre-games training camps. We will also deliver on the other important elements of Northern Ireland’s Strategy for 2012.
My Department, working in partnership with lead organisations across central and local government has developed a Strategy to deliver the benefits for Northern Ireland across a number of key themes.
The cultural theme of the Northern Ireland 2012 Strategy is underpinned by the plan to host a four-year cultural celebration across the UK, known as the Cultural Olympiad. This will be launched over the weekend of 26-28 September 2008, and will comprise of local and regional projects and events, large-scale “signature” projects which were included in the London 2012 bid, and the mandatory opening/ closing and other ceremonies.
Northern Ireland Projects will be considered for inclusion in the Cultural Olympiad and can apply right now for inclusion through the DCAL 2012 Unit. Although new funds are limited, some monies have been allocated to support cultural activity. Northern Ireland expects to gain an additional £1.31million through the UK Legacy Trust to support local Northern Ireland projects that bring together culture, education and sports. There are also opportunities for local communities and grass roots organisations to be involved and to use the “gold” dust of the Olympics to raise the profile of their sector.
In the Business theme an electronic brokerage system has been designed especially to support UK businesses bidding for contracts for 2012. This system, called ‘CompeteFor’, was launched on the 8th April 2008 in Belfast by InvestNI and the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. To date 216 companies from Northern Ireland have registered on the system, with an agreed target of 300 registrations for Northern Ireland per annum.
The 2012 Games will see a growth of international leisure Tourism to the UK with an additional 500,000 visitors forecast for 2012. The impact of hosting the Olympics can boost inbound tourism for a decade. The Northern Ireland Tourist Board will want to maximise its share of the predicted additional visitors to the UK by supporting the Cultural Olympiad and maximising Public Relations and destination marketing opportunities associated with 2012. There is the potential to use the Titanic brand to attract visitors around 2012 particularly since this will mark its centenary. We should be able to use the Games to promote Northern Ireland as a destination of choice for attracting major international and World-class events as well.
Volunteering is a fundamental part of Northern Ireland’s 2012 Strategy and the Northern Ireland Volunteer Development Agency is in the lead on this theme. It is anticipated that the 2012 Games can be used to inspire those existing volunteers to volunteer during games time and to encourage those who have not yet had volunteering experience, to get involved.
The need to sustain this contribution is challenging. The greater challenge is to plan how this can be increased and to build further capacity in the sector. The unique attraction of being a volunteer during games time, as part of this World event, should bring added value.
An excellent example of this is the ‘Personal Best’ Programme. This is a new Programme inspired by the Games. Its objective is to ensure that those marginalised or socially excluded have the opportunity to participate in 2012 activities. It uses the excitement of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to engage the socially-excluded and encourage them into accredited training and support them into further training, volunteering or paid employment. Those involved would get to experience Volunteering – perhaps for the very first time - and to develop skills in areas such as event management, health and safety and business.
Successful graduates from the Programme will be guaranteed an interview with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games to be considered as a volunteer for the Games. The Programme is to be rolled out across the UK in the coming months and Department for Employment and Learning in conjunction with the Sector Skills Councils are considering how we might participate and derive benefits from this excellent opportunity.
And these skills will not only benefit London. Northern Ireland has won the bid to host the World Police and Fire Games in 2013 and we will be welcoming over 25,000 visitors, that includes athletes and their support personnel. Five thousand volunteers will be required to support this major event and those who have gained training and possibly even experience in the London Games will be of huge value in 2013 and beyond.
Opportunities in Education are still being developed. However, the Games will provide the unique opportunity to inspire young people into greater participation in cultural activities and sport as well as the development of their knowledge and skills. Young people, their teachers, schools, colleges and universities, across the UK, will have access to films and other education resources and materials, such as an interactive website in June this year, where students can learn about the Olympics and Paralympics. The Handover from the Paralympic Games takes place on 17 September 2008 and this will have an education theme.
Then there is Sport: Aspirations to maximise the opportunities in Sport provided by 2012 are fully aligned with my Department’s draft Strategy for Sport and Physical Recreation. This focuses on Participation, Performance and Places. The aim is to increase participation by 2014 to provide every child in Northern Ireland over the age of eight with the opportunity to participate in at least two hours per week of extra-curricular sport and physical recreation; by 2017 to have secured a 3% increase in adult participation in sport and physical recreation, 6% increase by women and 6% increase by people with a disability. In the area of increasing Performance we want to see 100 medalists at Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic level by 2017, and in terms of Places to have the Elite Facilities programme completed.
Sport Northern Ireland intend to invest in 100 multi skill coaches, 80 community coaches and physical activity leaders; 22 disability and women’s sports officers; 60 Talent coaches; six Performer Development Centres; and 24 High performance coaches and performance directors.
In relation to pre-games training camps, Northern Ireland has been successful in having 27 of our sports facilities included within the Pre-Games Training Camps Guide for 2012. The Guide will be launched at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing this Summer. In addition eight of our sporting venues are included in the 2012 Guide for Pre-Games Training Camps for Paralympic sports.
Being in the Guide is the first stage, but it does not guarantee success. We will need to work hard to secure the sports to ensure that our facilities are used by those athletes. This will present opportunities for the young and local communities to be inspired further by having Olympians live, work and train in their area.
There is also scope to expand our plans and activities for 2012 and to include additional themes, such as Health and Environment. Engagement with the respective organisations is already well underway.
Although more, much more, work remains to be done on taking forward Northern Ireland’s plans for 2012, it is worth recognising that we have made steady progress. It remains crucial to continue to work in partnership and engage widely across the sectors, to deliver.
Northern Ireland is fully part of the London 2012 structure for the Games. Northern Ireland is represented on the Organising Committee’s Nations and Regions Group at senior level along with the nine English Regions and the other two devolved administrations. We are working closely with our colleagues in Scotland and Wales to ensure we learn and share from best practice.
Being part of the London 2012 structure for the Games will ensure that we are kept informed of key developments across the key themes of our Strategy and that we feed into the wider Government Policy objectives for creating a lasting and valuable legacy.
I presented these plans to the Executive Committee on the 22nd May 2008. They agreed to an inter-agency Steering Group, chaired by the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, to provide strategic oversight of Northern Ireland’s contribution to the 2012 Games; the Executive also agreed to embed 2012 opportunities into respective departmental plans and where appropriate include these plans as part of the normal in-year monitoring and budgetary process. This demonstrates Northern Ireland Government’s commitment to capitalising on the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012.
The eyes of the World will transfer from China to the UK on 24 August 2008 when the spotlight moves from the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing to London and the UK. It is essential that Northern Ireland fully plays its part to ensure that we gain the maximum benefit for Northern Ireland, for our businesses, for our communities and for our young people. This is a once in a life time opportunity to do this and we are well placed to deliver on this opportunity.
Thank you."
