2012 Foreword
written by Lord CoeIt has become part of everyday language to refer to an august gathering as a veritable ’who’s who’. As Who’s Who reaches this, its 164th edition, it is enshrined in our national fabric. It goes without saying that it’s a huge honour to write the foreword for the 2012 edition.
The fact that the publication has not included a foreword for many years, enhances that honour but also demonstrates the importance of this year. There is every possibility that 2012 will be a year which is talked about for generations. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be followed by London becoming the first ever city to host the Olympic Games for the third time and then the Paralympic Games will be ’coming home’ to the UK, birthplace of the Paralympic movement. London and the UK will be a pretty special place to be in 2012.
Since securing the right to host the Games in London in 2005, we have seen a huge amount of support for those Games from the public, athletes and politicians alike. But I think the moment when people will really start to get excited is when the Olympic Flame arrives on our shores on May 18 2012. Over the following 70 days or so, the flame will be carried to the four corners of the UK and with it the Olympic spirit will touch communities as people line the street to cheer on the 8,000 torch bearers, many of whom will have been nominated by friends, family or colleagues in recognition of their outstanding work in their communities.
The flame’s journey around the UK will reach its destination on 27 July at the Olympic Stadium in east London where the opening ceremony will mark the opening of the Games with the world looking on. There will be 19 days of magnificent sport at spectacular venues against the backdrop of a party atmosphere in London and across the UK. With many British athletes, some of whom will be featured in this very publication, going for gold, I hope that the whole UK will come together to support them. I also hope the nation will be proud of the show we put on next summer.
We will have also recruited up to 70,000 volunteers, or ’Games makers’ as we call them, to help us make the Games happen. Some of them will have less than glamorous roles, but each will share a passion for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and without them, the Games simply wouldn’t happen. The difference between a good Games and a great Games is the quality of volunteer teams.
But when the flame is extinguished at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, there is still more to come. The Paralympic Games can trace its origins to the UK when in 1948 as London hosted the Olympic Games and on the day of the opening ceremony a sporting competition for injured servicemen and women was held at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. The brainchild of visionary surgeon Dr Ludwig Guttmann, this competition grew and the Paralympic movement was born.
The Paralympic Games should not be seen as a secondary event after the Olympic Games. The Paralympic Games will be a once in a generation opportunity to shine a light on disability - I say disability, this is more about superhuman ability with some extraordinary athletes coming to London to compete. And the British Paralympians will be looking to replicate their performance in Beijing in 2008 when they finished second in the medal table. When I pick up my copy of Who’s Who in 2013, I sincerely hope some of the Paralympic heroes from London 2012 will feature alongside their Olympic counterparts.
2012 promises to be a spectacular year and will be talked about for years to come. But more than that, the benefits will be felt for generations to come. Everyone has an opportunity to be part of London 2012 in some way and many, many people will have an opportunity to make a lasting change in their life inspired by the Games. Whether it’s taking up a new sport, being inspired to continue volunteering the local community beyond 2012 or in years to come living and working in the revitalised area in and around the Olympic Park, the summer of 2012 is going to be truly special.
Sebastian Coe