Community 10.06.22

Celebrating Olympic Legacy in Action

An “Olympic Legacy in Action” event will take place at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park this month as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations for the London 2012 Games.

On Saturday 18 June, from 10am to 3pm, children and adults of all ages are invited to come and join the free activities, ranging from paddleboarding to boxing, at venues across the Park.

Young and old can try their hand at inclusive and accessible activities like football, boxing, tennis, dance, and rugby league. There will also be opportunities for paddleboarding and kayaking on Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, and cycling at Don Valley Bowl.

The Olympic Legacy in Action event celebrates the 10th anniversary of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is also an opportunity to see the hugely impressive facilities available in the Park at partner organisations like Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre and the English Institute of Sport Sheffield.

The day also forms part of Move More Month 2022. It will provide a platform to showcase a variety of activity providers from across the city, all working collaboratively towards the Move More vision of creating a healthier, happier, and more connected Sheffield.

Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park was established after London 2012 and is the only Olympic Legacy Park outside a host city anywhere in the world.

Bringing together expertise from academia, elite sport, the NHS, and public and private sector organisations, the Park creates a unique cluster of life sciences assets, including research centres, business incubators, educational facilities and laboratories for collaborative research and innovation in health and wellbeing.

Legacy Park Ltd Chair and former Sports Minister Richard Caborn, who was a key figure in bringing the Olympic Games to London in 2012, said: “We have brought sports science and medicine, sports psychology, and engineering together to create a unique legacy unrivalled anywhere in the world and I don’t think it could have happened anywhere else but Sheffield.

“We look forward to celebrating what the Olympic legacy has already delivered and achieved in Sheffield, showcasing our exciting plans as we move forward into the next development phase.

“This event in June kicks off those celebrations to bring hundreds and thousands of kids, young people, and adults onto the site.”

Tom Hughes, sport development manager at Yorkshire Sport Foundation, said: “10 years on from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games we have plenty to celebrate in Sheffield and what better way to do this than bringing together some of the brilliant people and projects from across Sheffield to one big free event.

“We are on a mission to create a happier, healthier and more connected Sheffield and we want to make it easier for people to move more and since there is a real willingness from organisations across Sheffield to do just that, we have 30 brilliant organisations coming down to offer free opportunities for people to get active. It promises to be a really fantastic event!”

A timetable of activities can be found here and for more information, contact tom.hughes@yorkshiresport.org