Passage 1 

I was really moved when Come Together struck up at the London 2012 opening ceremony. Apart from the sentiment the song expressed, I loved the fact that a young band from Sheffield was performing it—not because I don’ t think Macca still has it in him, but because young people draw their inspiration from people they can identify with. 

This is why in 2006, following London’s successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics, UK Sport, in partnership with UNICEF and British Council, designed International Inspiration to take previously inaccessible sports activities to children in the world’s poorest communities. A lot of International Inspiration is delivered by locally trained Young Sports Leaders. It is this peer dynamic, a powerful force in all countries of our youthful world, which recreates what The Beatles did through music—bringing people together. 

Sport inspires young people, and not just with dreams of becoming an athlete; it can influence how they approach everyday decisions and equip them with life-changing skills. It is also a powerful aid to overcoming social and political barriers. And so, in 20 countries around the world from the favelas of Rio to townships of South Africa, London 2012 set out to do what no other Olympic host had ever done before—-extend the social legacy of these amazing global games beyond the borders of the host nation. 

As the JCSs were churning the soil of Stratford, UK Sport, UNICEF and the British Council were already at work with national governments, sports federations and Non-profit Organizations (NGOs) to build the foundations to provide millions of young people worldwide with their own Olympic experience. 

We aspired to give 12 million children access to high quality sport, and at the outset that seemed an imagine too far. But as I watched the opening ceremony last week I knew that almost 13 million children have now benefited. Seeing athletes enter the stadium so proudly behind their flags was a great reminder of the pride, joy and universality of sport in all parts of the world as Mandela once said, Sport has the power to change lives. International Inspiration is now proof of that. I am so proud that our strategic cooperation with partners in 20 countries is strengthening existing school and youth sport structures and reaching individual teachers, coaches and young people on a massive scale. What’ s more, every country programme is different. Here are some of my favorite examples of the impact International Inspiration is having. 

In Bangladesh, where 17, 000 children a year die from drowning, International Inspiration in partnership with the Center of Injury Prevention and Research Bangladesh, created the SafeSwim programme, giving 4-10 year-olds the chance to swim by training coaches in their local communities. 

In Azerbaijan, International Inspiration has inspired the first registered NGO, housed in the offices of the National Olympic Committee, dedicated to training local coaches to deliver sports activities to disabled learners. 

In Mozambique, International Inspiration has moved the government to change its attitude to PE and school sport by helping to convene a Task Force of key officials with a mission to drive forward sport participation in education. 

As we see young girls in rural India progressing form limited domestic social roles to local sports coaches to respected village leadership positions through International Inspiration, the potential for sport to assist the achievement of wider global development goals is slowly gaining more recognition. 

If the Olympic teach us anything, it’ s that the young people’ s potential is limitless. Jessica Ennis, Team GB’ s star heptathlete, achieved 4 personal bests in the space of a week, whist a new star, Helen Glover, identified by UK Sport’ s Sporting Giants initiative 4 year ago, won Team GB’ s first gold medal. 

At the Mexico Games in 1968, just the year before The Beatles released Come Together, the closing ceremony was the first to be transmitted in color. It seems another world now. As all eyes fix on the closing ceremony this weekend, in 3-D for some lucky viewers, I hope that London 2012 is remembered not just for the positive meaning it has had for young Brits, but for the millions of lives beyond these “Isles of Wonder” that have been touched by International Inspiration, the Olympic Games’ first social legacy programme.