Team GB medal winners past and present, HRH the Duke of Cambridge, UK Prime Minister Rt Hon David Cameron MP and Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee Seb Coe are backing the Join in Local Sport campaign, which encourages people to take part in sport in their local area.
The campaign aims to get as many people as possible to turn up, take part and join in at their local sports facilities on 18 and 19 August – the first weekend after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Over 5,000 events will take place across the UK as part of building the sporting and volunteering legacy from London 2012.
Sport clubs and communities across the UK have been preparing for an enthusiasm for sport that they hoped a UK Olympic Games would generate. The ‘Join In’ weekend is designed to help capture the spirit of the Games and bring it back to the place it begins for all great champions – their local sports facilities.
There will be a chance to join in a range of sports including athletics, swimming, canoeing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey and karate.
Sporting icons Daley Thompson, Sharron Davies and Jonathan Edwards are visiting sports clubs around the country and will be joined by current Olympians for some surprise appearances.
The Duke of Cambridge said: "The incredible achievements of Team GB at London 2012 would not have been possible without the work that goes on at sports clubs up and down the country to forge the athletes of the future. Join In will provide thousands of people a chance to volunteer in their local club or even try – for free – a sport that may be new to them and to experience for themselves, at whatever level of ability, the joy that sport can bring."
Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee Seb Coe said: "We are really happy to support the ‘Join In’ project.
"It is a great idea that means that thousands of people across the UK can turn up and take part in local sports just after the Olympic Games finishes."