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Wednesday 8 September

14 January 2010: West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games welcomes David Moorcroft as Chair

The West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games welcomes Olympian and former Chief Executive of the UK Athletics, David Moorcroft as its new Chair; a role which will see David leading the group to ensure the West Midlands region fully maximises the benefits of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Coventry Legend, David Moorcroft is best known for his world record-breaking and medal-winning exploits on the track in the 1970s and 80s, then for his athletics punditry on the BBC between 1983 and 1997. It is for his remarkable 1982 World Record of 13:00.41 over 5000m that David Moorcroft is best remembered within athletics. From 1981 to 1995 David developed the Coventry Sports Foundation for which he was Chief Executive and remains a Trustee. In 1997, David was appointed Chief Executive of UK Athletics where he remained for ten years creating the most commercially successful athletics governing body in the world with a turnover approaching £20million.David Moorcroft was awarded an MBE in 1983 and an OBE in 1998 for his services to British sport.

Hosted by Advantage West Midlands (AWM) the West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games is the consortium officially recognised by the London 2012’s Nations and Regions group to lead and drive forward 2012 activity in the region by bringing together representatives from each of the six sub regions along with representatives from business, sport, culture, tourism, education and skills as well as the Youth Parliament, disability interests and Government agencies.

David Moorcroft, Chair of the West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games, said: “I am delighted to take up the post of Chair of the Leadership Group, the year ahead for the West Midlands will be incredibly important and exciting in terms of making the most out of London 2012 and in working to deliver the Leadership Group’s mission to create an Olympic moment for everyone in the region.

Nigel Russell, Head of Tourism, Culture and the Olympics at AWM said: “It is fantastic news that David Moorcroft is able to take the helm at the start of what is already looking like an exciting year for the region in terms of 2012 activity. I would like to thank Cllr Chris Saint for his work in driving the Leadership Group forward since 2005, I feel confident that David Moorcroft will continue this good work and support the Leadership Group in making the most of 2012 for the region.”

David’s appointment marks a very exciting and busy year for the Heart of England, West Midlands region. Highlights and dates for the diary for January to April 2010 include:

  • Businesses will continue to benefit with Business Awareness Workshops and Procurement Training Workshops hosted by Business Link West Midlands and delivered by West Midlands Chambers of Commerce ensuring businesses are equipped with the knowledge and skills to tender for contracts awarded by London 2012. Over 42 companies have already been successful through CompeteFor, a free service that enables businesses to compete for contract opportunities linked to the London 2012 Games. The Leadership Group will be working to build on these successes throughout 2010.
  • In January the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012 will announce the next successful People Dancing commissions, projects funded by Legacy Trust UK, Arts Council England West Midlands and AWM, that will join the likes of Town Hall Birmingham’s Bollywood Steps and Birmingham Opera Company’s Othello as using the inspiration of the London 2012 Games to get as many people as possible dancing in the West Midlands.
  • Registration for Open Weekend 2010, 23 – 25 July, will open in February with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) hosting a workshop in the region to highlight how organisations can get involved.  Following on from the success of Open Weekend in 2009 which saw almost 50,000 people in the West Midlands participate in and enjoy over 50 events across the region, the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012 team are keen to make sure Open Weekend 2010 is even more exciting, engaging people from across the region and beyond.
  • The start of the year will see the Leadership Group support the launch of a volunteering campaign aimed at promoting routes and opportunities linked to London 2012 for volunteering in the region. This will be supported by a new volunteering opportunities notice board on the wmfor2012.com website.
  • March will see the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012 invite cultural organisations and agencies to a showcase event to find out more about the programme in the region which consists of People Dancing; Community Games; Festivals and events (including Open Weekend); Inspire Mark Projects; and maximising the impact of major projects which for the West Midlands includes Film Nation led by Screen West Midlands, and with funding from Advantage West Midlands; The World Shakespeare Festival led by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Unlimited, the UK’s largest ever celebration of arts and disability culture and sport. March will also see the launch of the Film Nation Shorts programme.
  • The second International Dance Festival Birmingham (IDFB 2010), working in partnership with the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012, will take place in the city from 19 April to 16 May. This exciting initiative is once again being driven by producers DanceXchange and Birmingham Hippodrome with funding from Advantage West Midlands, Arts Council England West Midlands, and Birmingham City Council, and sponsorship from Brewin Dolphin. IDFB will showcase a huge range of dance styles at venues across both the city and the region.
  • At the start of April, Lord Seb Coe will launch a Community Legends campaign in the region inviting people throughout the West Midlands to nominate individuals within their communities who they feel are legends; living the Olympic and Paralympic values.

For further information on all 2012 activity in the West Midlands visit www.wmfor2012.com