Some of the region’s biggest players in sport, business and politics attended the ‘Towards 2012’ Olympic consultation event for the East Midlands held on 1st February.

East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and Sport England jointly hosted the conference which brought business and sporting leaders together to consider the opportunities the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games 2012 will bring to the region.

The conference also considered how the Olympic Games can act as an inspiration to young people and how the lasting legacy will impact on the region.

Olympic Medallist Steve Cram MBE, addressed the conference and said; “As part of the team involved in the London 2012 bid, I am delighted to attend this conference which looks at the opportunities the Olympics will bring to the whole of the UK. The East Midlands is already a leading sporting centre in Britain and I am sure the Olympics will bring even more opportunities to benefit sport, tourism and culture in the region.”

Jeff Moore, emda Chief Executive said: “It’s encouraging to see such numbers of people attending the conference and their enthusiasm for how they and the region can really benefit from the Olympics. As previous Olympic Games have shown, these opportunities extend far beyond the event itself providing a potential legacy that can really benefit our region.”

Tim Garfield, Director Sport England East Midlands said: “The East Midlands has a long and successful history in performance sport with world class facilities and elite athletes in the region. London 2012 will provide an excellent opportunity to build on our existing success by attracting people and resources to the region to take us forward and ensure our home grown talent in the East Midlands has every opportunity to flourish.”

Towards 2012 is the only conference of its kind to be held in the region. In the coming months and lead up to the Games there will be events tailored to the four key themes of Tourism, International Performance Sport, Business Opportunities and the Legacy of the Games. emda, Government Office East Midlands (GOEM), East Midlands Tourism (EMT) and Sport England East Midlands will continue to work together on  these forthcoming events to ensure the region will benefit from all aspects before, during and after the London Olympics in 2012.