Take part and celebrate the athletes and cultures of the world!
London 2012 World Sport Day has launched!
24 Jan 2012
Schools and colleges across the UK are today encouraged to start planning how they are going to celebrate the athletes and cultures of the world on London 2012 World Sport Day, presented by Lloyds TSB, on Monday 25 June 2012.
The day, will give thousands of young people in schools across the UK the chance to take part in the final UK-wide Get Set event before the London 2012 Games begin.
The plans for London 2012 World Sport Day were announced today at the Copper Box in the Olympic Park. Get Set Network schools Ripple Primary School and Jo Richardson Secondary, both from Barking and Dagenham, took part in the announcement as well as Olympic Gold Medallist Jonathan Edwards, Team GB athletes Zoe Smith and Charlie Walker, Fijian athlete Sisilia Nsigia Rasokisoki and New Zealand athlete Jonathan Paget.
Students from schools and colleges will be encouraged to celebrate the athletes and cultures of the world on the day in a variety of ways including staging their own World Sport Day opening ceremony and profiling the sports, music, dance, languages, flags and food of the world.
Get Set will provide resources to schools through the official London 2012 education programme , including tips from the London 2012 Ceremonies team of producers on how to host an opening ceremony for World Sport Day. Schools can download a planning guide to help them to prepare for their day. Schools can request a free event pack on the World Sport Day website; the pack is full of branded materials and decorations, with schools in the Get Set network receiving access to extra materials and opportunities.
World Sport Day builds on the ‘Support a Team’ initiative launched by LOCOG in November 2011 as part of the ‘Get Set goes global’ programme through which schools across the UK were invited to become a supporter of at least one Olympic team and one Paralympic team, along with Team GB and ParalympicsGB, in the lead-up to the London 2012 Games.
Some schools are already planning their celebrations. Roger Mitchell, Headteacher at Ripple Primary School in Barking and Dagenham, said: ‘Here at Ripple Primary School we are proud to hold a yearly Cultural Diversity fortnight. During this time, each class learns about a particular country and then puts on a showcase to celebrate that country’s culture. World Sport Day gives us the opportunity to both celebrate the London 2012 Games and incorporate the Cultural Diversity work and sports activities that our young people enjoy so much. Because we have a wonderful Samba band at our school, we will be supporting the Team Brazil on London 2012 World Sport Day and joining thousands of other schools across the UK in this occasion.’
BBC school reporters Edith and Callum from Jo Richardson Community School, London attended the launch. Find out what they had to say about the event and hear from one of Team GB’s Paralympic hopefuls, Charlie Walker. Read their report.
