On Your Marks! Bedford Borough to host teams from around the world ahead of London 2012
Bedford Borough will host 15 Olympic and Paralympic teams and
more than 250 sportspeople from around the world in the lead up to
the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.
This means, that with the exception of Weymouth, which will host
most nations for the various sailing competitions, Bedford Borough
will host more teams than any other town or borough in the
country.
Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, said: “Bedford Borough
has a superb sporting pedigree, excellent facilities and a vibrant
sense of community, all of which helped make it a very easy
decision for many teams to base themselves here.
“The summer of 2012 looks set to be an exciting time in the
borough, with the Kite Festival, Diamond Jubilee celebrations,
River Festival and the Olympic ‘Live Site’ at the Athletics
Stadium. It is great news that so many athletes from around the
world will also be joining us to experience this superb
summer.”
The teams will start to arrive from the 15th of June. The
nations which have agreed to be based in Bedford Borough are:
• The Maldives National Olympic Committee
• Central African Republic National Paralympic Committee
• Senegal National Paralympic Committee
• The Gambia National Paralympic Committee
• Morocco National Paralympic Committee
• Ivory Coast National Paralympic Committee
• Tunisia National Paralympic Committee
• Lesotho National Paralympic Committee
• Democratic Republic of Congo National Paralympic
Committee
• Uganda National Paralympic Committee
• Niger National Paralympic Committee
• Ghana National Paralympic Committee
• Pakistan National Paralympic Committee
• Angola National Paralympic Committee
• Jamaica National Paralympic Committee
Councillor Doug McMurdo, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture,
added: “A lot of hard work has gone into making the arrangement for
15 teams and more than 250 athletes and officials to live in
Bedford Borough ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games this
summer. However, when many of them visited Bedford Borough they
were immediately struck by how welcoming the people in the borough
were as well as the level of facilities available.
“I hope local residents will look forward to welcoming these
teams from around the world when they begin to arrive in June.”
Howard Darbon, Coordinator, Pre Games Training Camps for BOOST,
added: “BOOST was created to maximise the benefits which Bedford
Borough and the county as a whole could reap from the Olympic and
Paralympic Games and attracting nations to base themselves here was
a major part of that.
“There will be many ways for local residents to get involved
with the Games during the summer and we look forward to working
with local residents in the coming weeks and months.”