Mayor outlines 2012 vision for London

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, will today (Monday 29th March) unveil how London will look, feel, move and party during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In outlining his vision to the Olympic Board, the Mayor will reiterate the importance of ensuring people can get to and from venues effortlessly and efficiently, and that London showcases all its creative dynamism.
 
From the moment people arrive by plane or train, to the moment they leave, London will provide a fantastic welcome. Our 7,000 volunteers located at key points in the city will provide information, assistance and a welcoming smile to everybody needing help and support. These volunteers will be in addition to the 70,000 that London 2012 will be recruiting. 

While the Olympic Park will be the focus of much sporting prowess, central London will also be a hive of activity, with many road events, including the marathon and cycling races taking place there. The Mayor hopes that as many of these events as possible can take place at the weekend so that home supporters can come and cheer on Team GB.
 
The Mayor is adamant that London puts on a great show across the capital to match the sporting spectacle. Live sites will play a central role in this, putting on a series of fantastic, and free, set piece events to coincide with the activity in the Olympic Park. He will outline his vision for the four proposed live sites of Hyde Park, Victoria Park, Jubilee Gardens on the Southbank and Potters Field beside City Hall. Trafalgar Square, while not a live site, will be a magnet for many people and form part of a much wider central area of celebration.

As part of the Cultural Olympiad, the Festival 2012 team is already hard at work harnessing London’s creative dynamism. At the heart of the cultural celebrations surrounding the Olympics will be a 12-week, once-in-a-lifetime arts festival with commissions from some of the world's finest artists. Events such as the Create festival in East London are being positioned to attract similar size crowds as Edinburgh’s Fringe festival in years to come.

The Mayor Boris Johnson said: “The Olympic and Paralympic Games are such a unique and outstanding opportunity for London and the UK with the benefits far outliving the closing ceremony. We’re under no illusion about the mammoth tasks ahead in planning and preparing for the world to come and experience our capital.

“It would be remiss of us to think people will stay away from such an occasion - simply put, it will be ‘business as unusual’. But we will be more than ready and are carefully planning these momentous and historic days for our city. Any visitor to London during a normal summer is spoilt for choice – in 2012 we’ll be raising it several notches.”

Ends

Notes to editor:
1. The Olympic Board provides oversight, strategic coordination and monitoring of the entire 2012 Games project, ensuring the delivery of the commitments made to the International Olympic Committee when the Games were awarded to London, and a sustainable legacy from the staging of the Games.
2. The Olympic Board is made up of Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, British Olympic Association Chairman Colin Moynihan and London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Sebastian Coe.
3. The Mayor of London (through the Greater London Authority) is responsible for co-ordinating the London City Operations programme and delivering some of its main elements such as the Look of London programme and the planned Games-time live sites. 
4. The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad was launched in September 2008 at the end of the Beijing Paralympic Games and will run to the last day of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. London won the right, for the first time ever, for culture to play a central role in the 2012 Games. Spanning the four years of the Olympiad, it is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is designed to give everyone in the country a chance to be part of London 2012, inspiring creativity across all forms of culture, especially amongst young people. The aim is to make a real impact, which will leave a lasting legacy well beyond 2012.
5. ‘Festival 2012’ and will run from Midsummer Day, 21 June, until the last day of the Paralympic games on 9 September
6. London 2012 will depend on up to 70,000 volunteers to make sure the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games run smoothly and successfully. For further information please go to www.london2012.com/get-involved/volunteering/index.php