The lost legacy of Lost London legacy 2012of 2012 Olympics
THE London 2012 Olympics were meant to inspire the next generation of stars like Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis-hill.
But instead, its sporting legacy has been betrayed by Tory cuts.
The last 10 years have seen participation in sports plummet, facilities forgotten and physical activity flatline.
In 2012, ministers were “committed to delivering a sporting legacy for young people and to bringing back a culture of competitive sport in schools”. But since then, statistics show:
■ Sport England, the public body that promotes sport, has had its funding slashed by 44%.
■ Council spending on sports and recreation facilities has plummeted by 60% because of government cuts.
■ 36,000 fewer hours of PE are being taught in England – by fewer teachers.
■ The proportion of adults participating in sport has declined.
Ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham later this week, Shadow Culture Secretary Lucy Powell accused the Tories of a “decade of neglect”.
She said: “London 2012 celebrated what was great about Britain and we were promised a golden age in sport in its aftermath by Conservative ministers. Instead, we’ve had a lost decade of grassroots sport as a result of government failure.” Sport England figures show fewer than half of children take part in physical activity for an hour each day.
And around a third did less than 30 minutes’ daily exercise in 2020-2021.
Paul Kirton, of Grassroots Football UK, said ministers had invested in training venues that many people couldn’t afford to use. And Swim England warned 2,000 pools – almost half of all those in the country – could shut by the end of the decade unless their ageing facilities are refurbished.
Within the next 12 months, 85% of leisure operators also fear they will be forced to stop operating completely.
Gerald Vernon-jackson, chair of the Local Government Association’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said: “Urgent intervention is needed to prevent council-run leisure facilities from closing under cost-of-living pressures.”
A spokesman for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “Over the past decade, we have made health and fitness a priority.
“We provided £1billion to ensure the survival of the grassroots, professional sport and leisure sectors during the pandemic, and prioritised their reopening to ensure access was available to all.
“We have recently announced £320million for the schools PE and Sport Premium, and more than £250million to build or upgrade grassroots football pitches and tennis courts.”