‘It is a great result for London, – and a great opportunity for the East Midlands’ said Tim Garfield, Regional Director of Sport England in the East Midlands as members of the East Midlands bid support team celebrated the announcement on Wednesday.

“Whilst colleagues in London are getting to grips with the reality of making the Olympics happen in 2012, the East Midlands role in supporting athlete development programmes and making the most of sport being at the top of the agenda are the new priorities here.”

A recent report has highlighted the unique opportunities for the East Midlands to be the most successful sporting region in the world.

The audit of Performance Sport shows that the East Midlands already has:

• World renowned performance sport facilities at Loughborough University
• Nottingham University is world leader in Sports medicine
• 22 national governing bodies of sport based in the Region
• Nearly twice as many hours of support services offered to elite athletes by the English Institute of Sport
• The East Midlands have the highest proportion of English athletes in the World Class and Talented Athlete Scholarship schemes living and training here Nottingham University

Audit and research of performance sport in the East Midlands

The announcement of the Olympics in London means the regional partners brought together to support the bid will be looking closely at how to support both the Olympic preparations and take advantage of the great opportunities it will bring for sport.  These include:

• building on our distinctive sporting heritage with Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Burghley Horse Trials and Silverstone all part of the sports tourism opportunities
• Creating more opportunities to encourage more people to take part in sport and be active
• The development of a cultural programme and many opportunities to help embed the Olympic ideals in education, sports participation and economic and social development.

The London 2012 bid has already created real momentum for sport in this country and today’s news is a great opportunity to transform our sporting infrastructure and inspire a new generation to participate in sport and lead healthier lifestyles.