22 August 2008

Flying the flag for the Olympics

Over 50 Olympic flags, including one at England’s highest point on Scafell Pike, will be raised across the Northwest on Sunday (August 24th) to celebrate the official handover of the Olympic Games from Beijing to London.

Sports personalities, dignitaries and local communities will be attending celebrations and watching the flag-raising ceremonies at town halls, sports facilities and even castles. Flags will be raised after the Mayor of Beijing hands the Olympic Flag to the Mayor of London as part of the Beijing Olympic Games Closing Ceremony at around 2.30pm. This will be followed by Sing the Nation www.singthenation.org when choirs across the country lead spectators into song in 24 cities and towns.

Manchester and Liverpool are ‘Live Sites’ where huge screens will beam back images of the Handover party in The Mall to which 40,000 people have been invited.

Peter Mearns, Executive Director Marketing at the NWDA, said:

“It is excellent to see that people and places across the Northwest are engaging with and getting excited about the Olympics coming to the UK. The journey to London 2012 starts now and will present many opportunities for the region to become further involved in the Games and to benefit from them. Northwest businesses are winning contracts to supply the Games, we have an Olympic venue in Old Trafford as well as pre-games training camps ready to host world class athletes. In addition, the launch of the cultural and educational programmes in September will mean all sectors of the community can participate in this historic event.”

Events taking place across the Northwest include the following:

Scafell Pike. Ascent begins at 10.30am
A flag will be raised on Scafell Pike – England’s Highest Mountain – for two to three hours. Those taking part will include Sir Chris Bonington, mountaineer, author and Chancellor of Lancaster University; Joss Naylor MBE legendary Cumbrian fell runner and Laura Park a young championship runner from West Cumbria. The three will unfurl the London 2012 flag at 2.30pm to coincide with the closing ceremony in Beijing.

Preston. Flying the Flag: Streetwise Festival. Moor Park from 1pm to 5pm
Olympic gold medallist Tessa Sanderson will be at the event which includes a streetwise football tournament and final, streetfeet dance performers, climbing wall and sports try outs, dance workshops, Preston North End football skills sessions, a stage programme with music and live entertainment, and displays from the National Football Museum.
At 4pm Tessa will join the Mayor of Preston, Councillor John Swindells in raising the London 2012 Olympic flag. 

Blackpool. Stanley Park. 12.30pm to 3pm
Children and young people from across the borough will come together to celebrate the handover and take part in sporting activities. There will be a flag raising ceremony led by three future Olympians and the Mayor of Blackpool Cllr Mary Smith at 2.30 pm. This will be followed by Sing the Nation led by a trio from the Blackpool Gospel Choir. Performances will come from Giant Seagulls, Chinese acrobats, John Siddique (poetry), Hot Wheels (dancers on wheels) Dynamic New Animation (puppet show). A vintage car show and rock festival are also taking place.

Manchester 1pm to 5.30pm
From 1pm in Exchange Square you can watch the Closing Ceremony in Beijing and live television coverage of the Handover Party in The Mall. There will also be sport demonstrations and a chance to try out Olympic sports.

Albert Square is also a Live Site and here Manchester joins 24 cities across the nation in Sing The Nation. Musical Director Jeff Borradaile and a 100-strong choir will lead the crows in singing the Manchester regional song How Deep is Your Love? and the national song Summer Celebration. Manchester’s own Hallé Orchestra will be playing a free concert of classical favourites to celebrate their 150th anniversary this year.

Knowsley
All young people who are attending the North West Street Games Festival will come together with other youth groups from across the area and demonstrate their sports at River Alt Resource Centre Playing Field. This ties in with the National Street Games, which are being held in Manchester. Boxer Tom Stalker and decathlete Katarina Thompson will be appearing.

Ends

Editors Notes

- Official London 2012 spokespersons on Handover Day:
Rob Young, Northwest Co-ordinator for the 2012 Games, and Debbi Lander, Creative Programmer for the 2012 Games, will be in Manchester.
If you would like interviews please contact me for further details. On the day please contact Rachel Ormandy on 07810 528449.

- The NWDA is helping London 2012 organisers to provide a regional perspective on how the Northwest is engaging in Olympic Handover Day.

- Flags will be raised at the following locations. Various events tying in with Handover Day are taking place at many of these venues. Please contact local authorities for more information.

Crewe and Nantwich Street Sports Festival – Town Square
Chester – The town hall and county hall
Widnes – Halton Regional Table Tennis Centre. With rugby league player Terry O’Connor
Macclesfield – Macclesfield Leisure Centre.
Vale Royal – Vale Royal council offices.
Warrington – Warrington Town Hall
Keswick – Keswick Leisure Pool
Penrith - Penrith Leisure Centre
Kendal – Kendal Town Hall, Coronation Hall and Grasmere Sports show
Workington – Allerdale House
Barrow-in-Furness – Park Leisure Centre. With Paralympian Shaun Uren.
Carlisle – The Civic Centre and Carlisle Castle.
Bolton – Bolton Town Hall.
Bury - Openshaw Park and St Josephs RC High School and Sports College
Oldham - Civic Centre
Rochdale – Rochdale Town Hall. With Simon Jackson MBE.
Swinton – Salford Civic Centre
Stockport – Stockport Town Hall
Ashton-under-Lyne - Portland Basin Museum
Stretford – Trafford Town Hall
Wigan - Leigh Sports Village
Blackburn – Pleasington Playing Fields
Burnley – St Peter’s Centre
Chorley – Chorley Town Hall
Accrington – Accrington Town Hall
Lancaster – Lancaster Town Hall
Nelson – Nelson Town Hall. With Brian Cookson MBE, the President of British Cycling.
Preston – Preston Town Hall and County Hall
Clitheroe – Clitheroe Castle and Waddow Hall
Leyland – Brownedge St Mary’s High School
Poulton-le-Fylde – Civic Centre
Ormskirk - Coronation Park
Liverpool – Liverpool Town Hall. With Liverpool and England footballer Phil Thompson.
Bootle – Litherland Sports Park
St Helens – St Helens Town Hall
Wallasey – Wallasey Town Hall

For further information please contact Sam Shale, Press Officer on 01925 400264 or 07717 427872 or sam.shale@nwda.co.uk 

For urgent out of hours press enquiries please call 01925 400259.

For further information and to view all press releases visit us at www.nwda.co.uk/press

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest and is responsible for:

• Supporting business growth and encouraging investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life