Coe to secure nation’s golden legacy

Lord Coe will serve as the Government’s “legacy ambassador” to oversee the best ways to secure long-term benefits for the country following the Olympic Games, it was announced.

The chairman of the 2012 organising committee, Locog, has been widely praised for his role in staging the Games, with a recent poll showing some 68 per cent of people considering him to have done a “brilliant job”.

The former athlete and Tory MP will now advise the Prime Minister on the best ways to harness the success for future generations.

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The twice-1,500 metre champion will also act as a roving ambassador to help secure deals for British firms, with the Government having set a £13bn economic boost target of hosting the Games.

A Number 10 spokesman said that Lord Coe would also be tasked with ensuring efforts to boost sporting, volunteering and regeneration effects were also kept on track.

Mr Cameron said: “Seb Coe has done a brilliant job delivering the best Games ever. Now I want him to help me deliver the best Olympic legacy ever.

“Legacy has been built into the DNA of London 2012 from the very beginning thanks to Seb. I am determined to make the most of the economic opportunities on offer from hosting the Games – making sure that we turn these Games into gold for Britain. I cannot think of a better person than Seb to be our ambassador to the global market-place and make sure we achieve our ambitious legacy targets.”

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Lord Coe said: “In terms of delivering world class events, Britain is at the top of its game right now. Capitalising on this within the UK and around the world is clearly a priority and I am delighted to be involved.”

The announcement came in an upbeat Downing Street Press conference at which Mr Cameron said that Games had proved that the UK’s “time has come” and had confounded those who suggest Britain was “down and out”.

Speaking in the garden of 10 Downing Street, Mr Cameron said Team GB had “astonished the world” by finishing third in the medal table.

“And with two weeks of the Paralympics to come we are just getting started.”

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“You only need two words to sum up these Games: Britain delivered,” he told reporters.

“We showed the world what we are made of, we reminded ourselves what we can do and we demonstrated that you should never ever count Team GB down and out.

“The lesson of these past weeks is that Britain can, and should, be ambitious. Frankly, we have got to dismiss the cynics who say we cannot do big things and prove them wrong.

“We in this country are going to make sure that these are not just Games that made history but the Games that helped to shape our future.

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“Over the last couple of weeks we have looked in the mirror and we like what we have seen as a country,” he added, saying the public had proved itself “the greatest member of Team GB”.

Praising athletes, volunteers and politicians of all parties involved, he went on: “Take all of this – the attitude, the confidence – and you see what Britain is today: Sure of who we are, proud of who we are. In short, not a country whose time has been but whose time has come.”

Many athletes’ names had “officially passed into legend” he said, singling out Jessica Ennis, Sir Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins, Nicola Adams and Ben Ainslie.

“As a parent as much as Prime Minister, I am grateful for the example that they have set our children: That real heroes are the ones who slug their guts out until they succeed and who are as gracious when they lose as when they win.”

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There were also name-checks for former prime ministers Sir John Major for setting up the National Lottery and Tony Blair for helping to win the bid and London Mayor Boris Johnson – although not Mr Johnson’s Labour predecessor Ken Livingstone who was in office when the bid was won.

And he praised the volunteers who acted as “Games Makers” and the armed forces who filled in after private security contractors failed to provide sufficient staff.

“As international charm offences go, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.”