sport news London didn't deliver its goal, but we won't make same mistake with the ... trends now
It is a decade since London 2012. Ten whole years since the nation was thrilled by Jonnie Peacock, Ellie Simmonds, Nicola Adams and Sir Chris Hoy, among so many others, winning gold in front of capacity crowds.
The Olympics and Paralympics Games were fuelled by a sense of optimism and expectation, and I’m not sure Britain has seen a time of celebration and connection through sport quite like it since.
But the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which start this week, give us another national moment to get behind. It is a time for reflection too.
On what we have learned from the legacy of 2012 — and how we apply those lessons now. In 2012 I was the chief executive of the British Paralympic Association.
It was remarkable to witness the transformation of public interest in disability sport and with it their perception of what is possible.
The London 2012 platform created opportunities never seen before for our athletes, as well as driving more investment.
It's been 10 years since the nation was thrilled by Sir Chris Hoy and many other athletes
Jonnie Peacock, Ellie Simmonds (pictured) and Nicola Adams all won gold at London 2012
And both Games boosted sporting infrastructure, driving more opportunities for people to be active.
Sport England, where I am now CEO, ran a programme in which more than 2,200 facilities were improved, 370 playing fields protected and areas of deprivation regenerated.
But one of the key questions from 2012 is: did it make us a more active nation? Since we won the hosting rights in 2005 and began to work on the Commonwealth’s legacy, the number of active people has substantially increased.
Commonwealth Games offer an opportunity to reframe the legacy of a major sporting event
The Active People Survey shows that between 2005 and 2016, the number of people playing sport in Britain at least once a week grew by 1.9million.
In 2015, Sport England introduced a new survey, Active Lives, designed to measure the number of people meeting the new Chief Medical
