Archived press release

Date Published: 06/07/07

Preparations are underway for Buckinghamshire to host a national roadshow promoting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The summer roadshow will stop at 27 locations in a ten week tour of the UK, ending at Stoke Mandeville in Aylesbury ...

Preparations are underway for Buckinghamshire to host a national roadshow promoting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The summer roadshow will stop at 27 locations in a ten week tour of the UK, ending at Stoke Mandeville in Aylesbury Vale on 29 August to mark five years to go to the opening ceremony of the London Paralympic Games.

Buckinghamshire’s visit is one of only two within the south east region and will be held at Stoke Mandeville Stadium – the national centre for wheelchair sport and birthplace of the Paralympic Games. The stadium hosted the annual roadshow last summer and is the only venue to be visited again on this year’s tour.

Among the sports stars who are expected to be at the stadium are Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain’s most successful Paralympian, and Adrian Moorhouse, Olympic gold medallist and Chairman of the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Olympic Co-ordinating Group.

The London 2012 roadshow is currently on a 3,000 mile journey that began in London last month, informing local people about the preparations for 2012, what the games can mean for them and how they can get involved. In particular they will be taking the opportunity on their visit to Stoke Mandeville to spread the word of the opportunities for local people to be part of the sporting legacy of the 2012 Games.

The roadshow’s theme is ‘Join In’, encouraging sports participation, particularly amongst young people, and coaching. It will consist of a specially-branded double decker bus and will offer taster sessions in a range of traditional and exciting new sports for visitors to try.

The roadshow will also contain a National Lottery ‘Dream Statistics’ zone, to enable visitors to see how their statistics – including height, weight, and muscle power – might make them suited to different sports. In addition, local clubs, sports organisations and providers will be on hand to provide information and activities for local people to get a taste of the Olympic spirit.

Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson said: “This special sporting event offers a great opportunity to showcase Stoke Mandeville Stadium’s desire to be a location for pre-Olympic training and to spark the ambition of local and regional athletes to compete in the games. The roadshow will highlight how positively Buckinghamshire has approached the opportunities that the 2012 Games provide and the lasting benefits that the games can provide to disabled people and residents of the county.” 

Martin McElhatton, Chief Executive of WheelPower, the national charity for wheelchair sport and owners of Stoke Mandeville Stadium, said: “WheelPower is delighted to welcome the roadshow back to Stoke Mandeville Stadium, marking such a key anniversary in the countdown to the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Stoke Mandeville Stadium continues to provide world class facilities for Paralympic athletes to train alongside the local community in an inclusive environment. WheelPower is keen to increase awareness about the benefits of participation in sport for disabled children and adults and the roadshow visit will enable us to achieve this.”

For further details about how you can get involved with the roadshow’s visit to Stoke Mandeville on 29 August, please call AVDC’s leisure services on 01296 585210 or email leisure@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk