A Legacy or a Lost Opportunity?

When history judges us at some point after 2012, will we be able to say that we contributed to something worthwhile or will there be a collective sigh accompanied by ‘if only…’?

People talk about the fact that no country has ever been able to significantly increase participation in sport and physical activity, but it’s more accurate to say that there is no evidence that this has been achieved.

The Department of Health have examined whether previous large sports events have managed to do this, and the DCMS have researched the ‘potential of mega events to influence people’s attitudes and behaviours’, including in relation to physical activity but despite all of this there is still no conclusive answer.


If planning alone was a measure of success then we can all start slapping each other on the back now.

The DCMS have its objectives and plans, Sport England have theirs. In London the Mayor (through the GLA) has his too, as do most or all of the other regional development agencies.

• But have the plans reflected the findings from the research?
• Have we got some innovative ideas to package sport and physical activity in ways that are attractive to different markets?
• Are we in danger of treating young people as a homogenous group? Some of our Olympians say they were inspired by previous medal winning exploits, Lord Coe for example, but for the average young person who may not possess quite the same levels of drive and determination, winning Gold may seem too far out of their reach. So the message that you too can be an Olympic hero in the future may not resonate with everyone. We need to show that you do not have to be the best in the world to experience the enjoyment that a (hopefully) lifelong involvement in sports can bring. So segmentation will be an important part of the marketing process.
• And, most importantly, bearing the above in mind, is there a joined up marketing and communications plan outlining how to inspire people, particularly young people, to become more active?

But, no matter what the answers to all these questions the big one still remains:

Will the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games inspire a generation of more active Britons or will they simply ensure that we enjoy sport from the comfort of our armchairs even more than we do now?

What do you think? How do you think we can ensure a meaningful legacy? Are we making progress or is it an impossible dream? Join the debate below.