19 July 2005

London, UK: One of UK's leading volunteering organizations has recently said that London's successful bid to host the Olympics in 2012 will provide a massive boost to the sector.

More than 70,000 volunteers will be required to help run the games, providing a range of essential services from spectator support and transportation to first aid and translation.

Volunteering England backed the London bid team's belief that the Olympics could simply not be held without the involvement of volunteers.

Dr Justin Davis-Smith, deputy chief executive of Volunteering England, and an author of the draft Volunteering Strategy prepared as part of London's successful bid, said: "Diversity was one of the major selling points in London's bid and the 70,000 volunteers, drawn from among the capital's 200 different nationalities and across the UK, will play a key part in making 2012 the most diverse and inclusive games ever seen."

The charity believes volunteers themselves will also gain enormously from their involvement, in terms of skills learned, qualifications achieved, and the opening up of new employment and educational opportunities.

The 2012 strategy outlines the intention to create an advance cadre of several thousand volunteers some three or four years before the Games to work in community regeneration projects in the capital.

"Not only will this provide an opportunity for volunteers to develop the skills necessary to work in the games but it will provide a valuable human resource to some of the poorest communities in Britain and help allay fears that the Olympics will `drain' volunteers away from existing projects," said Dr Davis-Smith.

"Perhaps most importantly, the Olympics offer the opportunity to transform the volunteering landscape in Britain.

"Many people will be inspired to volunteer for the first time and will hopefully be encouraged to continue long after the games have finished. And just as the Olympics will result in the development of the physical infrastructure in London - the stadiums and the transport systems - so one of its most lasting legacies will be the strengthening of the volunteering infrastructure at local and national level which will create a platform for the development of volunteering for many years to come."

Volunteering England is the integrated national volunteer development organisation for England. It works across the voluntary, public and private sectors to raise the profile of volunteering as a powerful force for change.