Legacy Rewarded At Beyond London 2012 Awards

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, Lord Coe, former Chairman of London 2012 and Chair of International Inspiration, and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson were amongst the senior figures from sport, politics and business who gathered on Monday night to see organisations, individuals and programmes that utilised London 2012 to trigger positive social change rewarded at the Beyond London 2012 Awards.

Six organisations from a shortlist of 19 leading examples of legacy work were named as Award winners, and will receive business support and/or funding packages through the Beyond Sport Foundation, provided by the event’s category partners BT, Barclays, P&G, RP Global and Sport Relief. 

They included a rugby programme that works to equip unemployed young people for the challenges of the workplace; a programme in Tower Hamlets, started just before the Olympic Games, designed to use football to engage teenage fathers and renew and strengthen their relationships with their children; and a project helping young Muslim girls to participate in sport through leagues, practices and special events.

London 2012 gave this country a once in a lifetime opportunity to boost sport’s place as the unseen social worker, said Lord Coe. As we focus on securing a strong legacy and look to the future it is important that those programmes and projects which have successfully capitalised on the opportunity are rewarded, and that the UK does not lose sight of the future opportunities in this area. That is why Awards such as these that show the strong legacy that is in place are so important.

The Mayor of London’s own sports participation fund has supported one of the winners – E18HTEEN – a programme run by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation providing one-to-one mentor support for young people not in education, employment or training. The Mayor also presented the Barclays Employability Award on the night and announced that a further £2.7m from his fund is available now for community projects striving to get Londoners active and to improve facilities such as club buildings, playing fields and recreation grounds.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Helping more people get active, more regularly was always at the heart of London’s 2012 Games. Beyond Sport’s inspirational winners show that an army of dedicated folk are keeping the Olympic and Paralympic flame alive in communities across the capital. I send on my congratulations to everyone involved in these fantastic projects including E18HTEEN funded by my sports participation programme.”

Nick Keller, the Founder of Beyond Sport, concluded: “Legacy is about much more than increasing participation numbers. We have seen sport play a vital role around the world in education, improving health, bringing communities together, and even disarming gangs. These programmes and organisations have capitalised on London 2012 to take their work to a new level and Beyond Sport is proud to be able to recognise them here.”

The Beyond London 2012 Awards evening also saw the launch of the charity International Inspiration (IN), the continuation of London 2012’s international legacy programme.  IN has inspired over 15 million children and young people in more than 20 countries around the world to play sport – developing leadership skills, promoting better health, achieving greater inclusion and widening access to education through the power of sport.   

Lord Coe added: “It is an honour for me, as Chair of International Inspiration, to officially launch IN at Beyond London 2012. This venture is an opportunity for me and others to be involved personally in making sure that the legacy of London 2012 benefits the youth of the world for many years to come, and that the UK continues to blaze a trail as a global leader in enriching lives through sport for development.”

The Beyond London 2012 Awards were also backed by The Daily Telegraph, Smart, Smyle and Icon.

Beyond London 2012 Awards – Winners and Shortlist

BT Paralympic Momentum Award

Winner:

• Channel 4 – received by CEO David Abraham

Under David’s leadership Channel 4 achieved the following through their campaign and broadcasting of the London 2012 Paralympic Games:

• 65% of viewers felt coverage had a favourable impact on their perceptions towards people with disabilities.
• 56% of viewers felt C4 coverage made them feel more comfortable talking about disabilities.
• TV coverage peaked at 11.6m for the Opening Ceremony – Channel 4’s biggest TV audience in over 10 years.
• ‘Meet the Superhumans’ Campaign, the biggest in Channel 4’s history, was seen by 86% of the population.
• 87% of adults who recalled seeing the campaign for the event went on to watch the Paralympics.
• Unprompted awareness of the Paralympics rose from 16% of adults a month out, to 77% of the day of the Games. And prompted awareness also grew to 94% on the day of the Games.
• 72% of adults who recalled seeing the ‘Meet the Superhumans’ trail said it showed that the Paralympics were as exciting as the Olympics.
• The Superhumans promo was watched by over 1.7m people on YouTube.

Special Mentions:

• Help for Heroes, which, in the lead up to 2012, worked with the British Paralympic Association, national government bodies and the MoD’s Battle Back programme to identify talented athletes at an early stage.  
• Paralympics GB Sportsfest, which held festivals all around the country and provided people with disabilities to try out different sports.
• Panathlon, which held multiple events for the first time ever as a result of London 2012, such as the Panathlon Challenge, with 32 London Boroughs in its programme, with nearly 2,000 young disabled Londoners benefitting.

Barclays Employability Award

Winner:

• School of Hard Knocks – A rugby programme that works to equip challenged youth emotionally for the unique challenges of the work place, help them to understand the concept of ‘career’ and support them to develop pathways to jobs – during 2012, many of the participants found employment directly as a result of activities arranged around the Olympic Park.

Other shortlisters:

• Foundation Degrees – Tottenham Hotspur – A project that provides a unique opportunity for young people not in school or work to attend higher education within a Premier League football club – The courses had the Olympics as a strong theme throughout with regards to government policy, strategies and agendas. 
• Street Elite – A training for work programme which uses sports and community engagement to inspire, motivate and change mindsets of NEET young people to guide them back into education, employment or training.
• Street League – Winner of the P&G UK Impact Award last year, Street League uses football to engage NEET individuals and teach them skills, help them achieve accreditations, and set them up with opportunities for employment.
• Who’s Got Game – A series of basketball camps that uses not just sport but art, music, and mentoring to support young people into work opportunities.

RP Global Sustainability Award

Winner:

• Aramark Ltd – which provided the catering service for the athletes and workforce at the Athletes Villages for London 2012. Sustainability was placed at the heart of the operation – a first for global event catering – and succeeded in going beyond the LOCOG sustainability guidelines around food, venue, waste management, and employee training.

Other shortlisters:

• British Standards Institute – which yielded greater clarity around sustainability standards in the events sector. The Standards created have since become globally recognised – and the institute provides resources to events and industry practitioners on how to be more sustainable
• Keep Britain Tidy – Changing Places Programme – An initiative created to extend the regeneration that was happening in the Olympic Park into the neighbouring communities by focusing the efforts of a wide range of stakeholders and, crucially, local volunteers.
• UPS London 2012 – Which implemented new technologies, protocols and procedures that would ensure the business went ‘the extra mile’ to deliver sustainable Olympic logistics and maintain those innovations after the Games concluded.

Sport Relief Innovation Award

Winner:

• Fathers Football – A programme in Tower Hamlets, started just before the Olympic Games, designed to use football to engage teenage fathers and renew and strengthen their relationships with their children.

Other shortlisters:

• Access Sports – BMX Legacy Project – a programme that makes cycling more engaging, inclusive and holistic for young people, using the international BMX track now based in London’s Host boroughs as a result of London 2012.
• LUTA – A boxing apparel brand started to support the impressive sport for development programme Fight For Peace. Ahead of the Games, the brand was launched as a social enterprise in an aim to help Fight For Peace to be self-sustainable in the future.

London 2012 Diversity and Inclusion Award

Winner:

Born to Succeed – Muslim Women’s Sports Foundation – which encourages women and girls from a BAME background across the UK to participate in sport through leagues, practice sessions, courses and special events.

Other shortlisters:

• Panathlon Challenge – For its focus on providing opportunities for young people with disabilities 
• QPR in the Community Trust – For their work with over 88 ethnic groups in their surrounding community, as well as their work with a range of age groups from 4 to 90 years old.

P&G UK Impact Award, supported by Sport Relief

Winner:

E18HTEEN – A programme run by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation providing 1-to-1 mentor support and signposting for identified young people not in education, employment or training living in the London Boroughs of Barnet, Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest.

Other shortlisters:

• Annandale & Eskdale Sports Academy – a sports centre in Dumfries & Galloway that has gone above and beyond its remit to make sport more inclusive and reduce social exclusion, which are prevalent in this area of Scotland
• Fight for Peace – A boxing organisation started in the favelas of Rio De Janeiro and adapted for London, providing young people opportunities through boxing and capoeira in education, empowerment, and pathways to employment
• SkyWay – Street Leaders – A programme that engages ‘at risk’ young people in drop-in sports activities and supports them to become trained volunteers leading sessions for younger children in their neighbourhoods.