The greatest show on Earth has ended,
so how will we manage to follow that?

London 2012 has captured the nation’s imagination, but is the feelgoood factor here to stay and what will our Olympic legacy be? Chris Bond reports.

IT’S hard to believe after two weeks of exhilarating and often nail-biting sporting competition pitting the greatest athletes on the planet against one another, that it’s all over bar the shouting.

No more crowds roaring on Sir Chris Hoy and co in the Velodrome, no more Colin Jackson bouncing up and down in his seat as Mo Farah wins gold, no more tears from garlanded champions on the podium, no more heroics. It’s been emotional. It has also been a tremendous success and while it’s impossible to call it the best ever Games (which every host nation lays claim to) it has certainly lived up to its billing as the Greatest Show on Earth.

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For those wondering what they’re going to do with themselves now the action has finished there is still the Paralympic Games to look forward to later this month. But after all the hype and anticipation it’s perhaps not surprising that some people are feeling a mixture of euphoria at having witnessed such an amazing spectacle and sadness that it’s all over.

The past fortnight has produced some of the greatest moments in British sporting history that are destined to be played over and over again for years to come. London 2012 captivated the British public with most venues packed to the rafters and even last week as many as 2.5 million people were going online each day in an attempt to get their hands on tickets.

It’s easy at times like this to get carried away and say sport can change the world. It can’t, not really, but what it can do is bring people together. This time last year London was smouldering after five days of rioting and looting and a breakdown in law and order. But 12 months on and visitors could have been forgiven for thinking they had landed in a different city – one populated by flag-waving Brits, wreathed in smiles and prone to burst into spontaneous renditions of the national anthem as they celebrate Team GB’s Olympic success.

In the weeks leading up to the Games, though, it was a different story. The headlines focused on the fiasco surrounding G4S and the problems it was having supplying enough security guards and whether London’s creaking transport system would be able to cope with the millions of extra visitors descending on the capital.

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As it turned out, apart from the odd hiccup, the transport network held up pretty well and those fortunate enough to get tickets were pleasantly surprised to find the Tube, buses and Docklands Light Railway all running frequently and efficiently, without the horrendous crush they had envisaged.

Visitors singled out the scores of volunteers dotted around the venues for praise. They came from all walks of life and included students, pensioners and barristers, who had happily given up their free time because they wanted to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The crowds themselves helped make it a memorable games. We pride ourselves on our sense of fair play and while fans roared on the British athletes they were generous in their applause for those competing from other countries. Whether people are merely being carried along on a wave of national pride that will evaporate when the next set of unemployment figures are released is a moot point, but what London 2012 has shown is the singular power of the Olympics to galvanise people in a shared celebratory experience on such a vast scale.

For Yorkshire, in particular, it has been a fantastic Games and much has been made of the fact that had we been competing independently we would have been in the top 15 in the overall medals table ahead of the likes of Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand – countries renowned for their sporting prowess. It’s a boost not only for the county but for some of the lesser known sports, too. The success of Leeds brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, who took gold and bronze in the triathlon, will do wonders for the sport’s popularity.

“It’s a great story, not only for us, but for British sport as a whole,” says Jem Lawson, chairman of Triathlon England. “I read that more than 750,000 people went to Hyde Park for the triathlon which is just astonishing. Compared to swimming and athletics we’re a small sport but now we feel like we’re part of the medal club.”

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Not only that but they are expecting a huge surge in membership on the back of the brothers’ success. “Our membership is over 14,000 at the moment and we’re looking to grow that significantly and we hope to hit the 20,000 mark this year on the back of the Olympics, we’re geared up for that surge,” he says. “Although triathlon can be an elite sport we see ourselves as a lifestyle sport. Many people like swimming and most people have a bike, even if it’s been sitting in their garage for two years, and most people can put one foot in front of the other and even if they can’t we have paratriathlon which is growing, too. It’s very good cardiovascular exercise because you have the three basics – running, cycling and swimming.”

He says the knock-on effect for sports that just a fortnight ago some people had never heard of, has been huge. “I was listening to Lord Moynihan saying he wanted to see handball given a bit of a fillip. A few weeks ago, most people in Britain didn’t have a clue about handball, but suddenly they see it on TV and they’re interested in it. And it’s been like that across the board with lesser known sports and people saying, ‘I think I’ll have a go at that’. The question now is do these sports have the structure in place for those who want to be able to have a go? We know we do.”

With the Games having drawn to a close, attention has switched to its sporting legacy. But Ben Brailsford, Sheffield Council’s delivery manager for London 2012, says work on creating a lasting legacy actually started several years ago. “It’s not just about this summer, in the last three or four years we have been providing opportunities for young people to meet Olympians based in the city and talk to them,” he says.

Sheffield also hosted training camps prior to the Games to help inspire the city’s future sportsmen and women. “The United States diving team was invited to Sheffield and we made sure that young people interested in diving could come along and meet them, watch them train and hopefully be inspired.” Brailsford says they’ve used the Olympics to promote different sports. “We had the English Open table tennis championships in Sheffield last year. As well as being able to see the best players in the world in their own city we had taster sessions in all the schools so children who had never played before could have a go.”

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The success of Team GB has also been a big help. “The feelgood factor in the UK and the interest in sport in general right now is huge. The number of hits on Jessica Ennis’s website has quadrupled in the last few days and who knows how many people will take up the sport after being inspired by what she’s achieved,” he says. “We have the facilities here in Sheffield, we have the infra-structure and we have the coaches and hopefully we’re going to see more people joining local clubs and taking up a new sport.”

While there is an understandable emphasis on inspiring future generations of Olympians, there is an opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to get more involved in sport. In York, they have been involved in programmes aimed at encouraging the over 50s to take up sport. “We’ve had special open day sessions in the city with table tennis clubs and bowls clubs opening their doors,” says, Neil Gulliver, sport development officer with York City Council. “There are over 300 sports clubs in York and they are the lifeblood of activity in the city and we’ve been helping to promote them.”

Their efforts appear to be paying off. “There’s been a surge of interest in cycling with clubs reporting a lot more people wanting to join and we expect it will be a similar story with athletics and swimming clubs. But even before the Olympics started clubs were picking up new members so we’re definitely feeling the benefit here in York.”

With politicians queuing up to bask in the limelight of the 
Games, the challenge now is to ensure its success doesn’t go to waste. David Cameron has said there needs to be “a big cultural change” towards sport in schools if Britain is to capitalise on Team GB’s wins. Lord Moynihan, the head of the British Olympic Association (BOA), has come out and said more money is needed to fund a major expansion, with the focus on schools and sports clubs. The real test will be whether youngsters are still doing gymnastics and handball in 10 years’ time.

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It’s about the girl inspired by Nicola Adams to join her local boxing club, and it’s about the parents who take their son to the park and measure out 100m so he can see how fast he is. Who knows, he could one day break Usain Bolt’s world record. Now wouldn’t that be a legacy?

The Olympics in numbers

When the Games advertised for volunteers it received 240,000 applications for the 70,000 posts.

About 1,500 UK firms secured Olympic contracts totalling more than £7.3bn.

When Jessica Ennis triumphed in the heptathlon, 16.3 million watched the event on television. Later Mo Farah attracted even higher viewing figures when 17.1 million saw him clinch gold in the 10,000m final.

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According to Lloyds TSB, the London Olympics will have generated £10bn in revenue for the British economy as a whole. Revenue from tourists attracted by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are forecast to add up to an additional £2.1bn

Following the Paralympics, work will begin on dismantling the temporary venues in the Olympic Park and turning the athlete’s village into 5,000 new homes.

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