Olympic Festival

The 2010 London Olympics will be a once in a life time opportunity to our residents and for the borough to enjoy the experience together. The Kingston Conservatives have been working on two proposals. The first proposal is to make sure every school child gets to visit either the Olympics or the Paralympics once and the second proposal is to stage “A Kingston Olympic Festival”.
We will discuss and develop our final proposal with the Kingston Youth Council and other community organisations and consult with residents on which of the Borough’s Parks we would be the location for the Festival. Parks to be considered are Fairfield Park (Kingston Town), Victoria Park (Surbiton), King Georges Park (Tolworth) or Manor Park (New Malden) Recreation Ground. The London Olympic Games Organising Committee wants to work with all London Boroughs. We hope these Olympics will make Kingstonians feel good about themselves!

The Kingston Olympic Festival 2012.
For the duration of the London 2012 Olympics, the chosen Park would become known as Kingston Olympic Festival Park during the Festival. Within the park we propose:
• The Kingston Olympic Festival Screen & Stage - a large mobile LED screen backing onto the central pathway. Our proposal would be to use a mobile big screen unit with stage that can drive into the Park.
• The Kingston Olympic Festival Arena - a central track/field for activities
• The Kingston Olympic Festival Quarter - a walled, temporary structure along the boundary of the park
• The Kingston Olympic Festival Activity Area – a series of Exhibition / trade stands running along the park boundaries

There will be events for residents every day of the 17 days of the London Olympics. We would hope people of all ages and abilities will take part, from nought to ninety. We will aim to ensure all events are fully inclusive and accessible, we will work with any groups of individuals or organisations who would like to submit entries or teams.'

The programme will encourage local high level sports achievers, clubs, facilities and schools to come together. We can offer an ongoing opportunity to try, inspire and engage young people who currently see neither the point nor have the opportunity to develop a passion for a particular sport'.

Personal Well Being and Health issues are a growing concern and this Olympic Festival will give the Royal Borough of Kingston a great opportunity to promote sports and other related healthy activities. Holding events throughout the day will also allow people of different ages to take part, from mums and toddlers, to the over 60’s as well as school children and adults.
Holding an event of this sort also provides other benefits such as promoting sense of community and civic pride in your local area. This event could be limited to sports alone, but the scope has been widened to include the arts as well to allow a wider community base to participate.
Cllr Howard Jones said “The Olympics are almost upon us and we felt it was an opportunity not to be missed. There are so many great things we can do together. This could also be viewed as a community cohesion project in which we can share cultures, learn new sporting interests and skills, become a little healthier and enjoy the spectacular of one of the greatest sporting events together; the Olympic Games in London! We have taken advice from professional and experienced event organisers who have reviewed the feasibilities and given us both a plan and a budget for making these proposals a reality.
 
The Council will have to seek approval from the London Organising Committee but we are confident that they will find our proposals acceptable. Lord Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee said “We have always been clear – we want London 2012 to be ‘everyone’s Games”.
 
The funding will come from sponsorship, commercial revenues and the use of specific funding for Health, Culture and Sports promotion already allocated in the Council Budgets. We are delighted that subject to our proposals being approved CNM Estates have agreed to be the principle sponsor. CNM Estates have supported the Rose Theatre in the past. CNM Estates support means we can be confident that we can stage this Festival and do so without increasing our budgeted spend on Health, Sports and Cultural funding in 2012/13. This is exactly what we mean about making the most of every opportunity for our borough!”

Wahid Samdy, Chairman of CNM Estates said “This is exactly what I have been advocating for the last two years! I was delighted to see that someone had listened to my plea for Kingston to make the most of having the Olympics in London. We have been pleased to support the Rose Theatre and delighted to announce that we will support the staging of a Kingston Olympic Festival in 2012. I have young children myself and I want them to have wonderful memories of when the Olympics Games came to London. These proposals will help everyone feel part of this great sporting event and I hope have memories to treasure for years to come. I am committed to making Kingston a better place to live and this will be a pleasure to support.”
Ends

For Further information please contact:
Cllr Nick Kilby on 07753 787358 or

Alexandra Cook, Marketing Communications Manager for CNM Estates on 0208 390 9265
 
Notes for Editors:
Some Festival Ideas
Opening Ceremony & Celebration
To coincide with the London 2012 Olympics opening celebrations, local people will be invited to watch the opening ceremony relayed live to the Kingston Olympic Festival Screen, followed by Kingston’s own opening celebrations. This celebration could take the form of local schools and sports clubs parading through the Kingston Olympic Park to mark the opening of Kingston’s very own Olympic Festival.
Sport is for fun and friendship

We will be working with Community and Residents organisations to encourage people to take up sports and to develop new friendships while getting fit.
 
Affordable Sports
 
The affordability of sport is a big issue and we will be working with all Sports Organisation and Leisure Operators in the borough to provide greater access to sports facilities for those whose incomes are under the most pressure.
 
A Torch light on Kingston
 
During the Games, Kingston will be proudly showcasing our wonderful Boroughwide facilities for these events and enable all people in Kingston to participate in sport for the duration of the Olympics. We will plan to ensure there will be an ongoing knock on effect on the number of people who regularly do sport and take part in exercise, a benefit to all in an era where we all worry about obesity and wellbeing.
 
Kingston Torch Relay
The route of the Olympic Torch Relay will not be announced until 2011. Kingston will hold its own torch relay just prior to the Opening Ceremony & Celebration.
Kingston Live - Olympic Footage
During the 2 weeks, in addition to the showing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, it would also be possible to show key sporting events, such as the finals.

Public Art programme

We will be working with Arts Organisation in the borough to create a public Art Programme to run throughout the Olympic Games. Folkestone has engaged Roger De Haan in regenerating the town through Public Art (mainly sculpture) We will also be looking to link with The University and their superb Art department to bring together with the Borough Art Collection and achieve a mixture of art, history, sports, tourism in public art. We were possible we would like to provide a platform for local talent.

Discovering the Diversity of Kingston
Providing the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the varied communities of Kingston in a festival of discovery. This event could take the form of an Expo with stands, demonstrations or events and talks or even a Carnival celebrating the many communities that make up the Royal Borough of Kingston.
 Diversity Worship Day
As part of the Discovering the Diversity of Kingston, we would like to hold a joint worship day and bring the many faiths within the borough to help promote understanding and good will.
School Olympic & Paralympics Challenge
Below are listed the sports undertaken at both the Olympics and Paralympics, local schools and clubs could compete against each other in a number of key activities.
 Olympic Sports
Aquatics – Diving Cycling – Road Modern Pentathlon
Aquatics – Swimming Cycling – Track Rowing
Aquatics - Synchronised Swimming Equestrian - Dressage Sailing
Aquatics - Water Polo Equestrian – Eventing Shooting
Archery Equestrian – Jumping Table Tennis
Athletics Fencing Taekwondo
Badminton Football Tennis
Basketball Gymnastics – Artistic Triathlon
Boxing Gymnastics – Rhythmic Volleyball
Canoe Slalom Gymnastics – Trampoline Volleyball - Beach
Canoe Sprint Handball Weightlifting
Cycling - BMX Hockey Wrestling
Cycling - Mountain Bike Judo
Paralympic Sports
Paralympic Archery Goalball Volleyball - Sitting
Paralympic Athletics Paralympic Judo Wheelchair Basketball
Boccia Powerlifting Wheelchair Fencing
Paralympic Cycling - Road Paralympic Rowing Wheelchair Rugby
Paralympic Cycling - Track Paralympic Sailing Wheelchair Tennis
Paralympic Equestrian Paralympic Shooting
Football 5-a-side Paralympic Swimming
Football 7-a-side Paralympic Table Tennis

Do More, Eat Well, Feel Great!
This enables other health promoting activities to be included.
• Breakfast Club:
From Tai Chi to Military Fitness, each morning could bring something new and prior to leaving participants could be offered a healthy breakfast.
• Healthy Eating Demonstrations:
Knowing what to cook and how to cook it is vital to living a healthy lifestyle. Various local chefs could offer cooking demonstration
• Afternoon Delights:
For those who are free during the afternoon maybe a spot of Ballroom Dancing or Yoga.
• Evening Adventures:
Watch the sun go down whilst sipping a smoothie after completing a riverside cycle.
Give it A Go - Activity Showcase / Promotion Days
We will encourage young and old to try something new with local clubs and groups holding taster sessions is a great way to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Art and Photography Competition
We will hold an art and photography competition – ‘What the Olympics means to me’ Which would ne launched in late 2011 and be designed to get the community involved in the build up to the Olympic games. The Exhibition would be staged during the games.
Kingston Fest - Closing Ceremony & Party
The closing ceremony gives a perfect excuse to hold a fabulous party. All the individuals who have taken part in the Kingston Olympic Festival could also take part in this. The evening could be rounded off with local bands appearing on the Kingston Festival stage and ending with a fantastic firework display.
Guinness World Record Attempt
A Guinness World Record attempt will be a great way of getting people together for the good of Kingston. We will ask the Public to suggest what record we look to set or break through a media campaign prior to the games. The desire would be that as many people as possible take part in the record attempt.