Department of Culture, Media and Sport: Sport and Recreation Division: Commonwealth...

PF 138

1995-2003

This series contains records relating to the bid for the Olympic in London in 2012 including discussion and policy on whether to bid, the bid structure, funding, lottery funding proposals, cost benefit analysis, international strategy, staging structures, the creation of a bid company, the establishment of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and the candidature files organised by themes. There are also minutes of meetings of the Olympic Steering Group and the Interdepartmental Group. This series also includes records relating to the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth Game Task Force, including minutes and project and policy documents

See AT 60 for other record relating to the Sports and Recreation Division AT 60

See also: PF 139

See LOC for records of the London 2021 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) LOC

CG, CGA and OGU

Public Record(s)

English

163 file(s)

Open unless otherwise stated

From 2021 Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Topics

Government finances

Sports

Series is accruing

The Cabinet agreed to back a bid for London to host the 2012 Olympic Games on 15 May 2003. The aim was to build on the UK's status in world sport, increase medal success and increase participation in sport. There would be benefits to London through inward investment, tourism, regeneration, transportation and housing and to the UK through events staged outside London, training camps, wider tourism, a cultural programme and the facilities legacy. A stakeholder panel was set up consisting of the Government, the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the Mayor of London/GLA. The bid was jointly and equally funded by DCMS and the London Development Agency. On 15 July 2003 the BOA was notified of London's bid, on 15 January 2004 the applicant city questionnaire was submitted to the International Olympic Committee, the bid folder was submitted on 15 November 2004 and following an evaluation visit in February and March 2005 it was announced on 6 July 2005 that London had been awarded the Games.

The Sport and Recreation Division was responsible for sport and recreation policy generally, sport for all and sponsorship of the UK and English Sports Council and the Football Licensing Authority. It also dealt with the safety of sports grounds, local authority and business sponsorship of sport and international matters. From 1997 to 2000 there were three branches in the Division: SARD A dealing with sponsorship, the National Lottery and the funding of sport; SARD B dealing with wider sport issues including youth sport, drug abuse in sport, sport for people with disabilities and children's play; and SARD C dealing with sports ground safety, sports broadcasting rights, playing fields and local authority issues.

The remit of the Division was widened in 2000 to promote increased participation in sport, more success in international sporting events and the contribution of sports to health, education, communities and economic regeneration. SARD A, B and C wre renamed Performance and Excellence Branch, Youth and Lifelong Branch and Economics and International Branch.

The Olympic Games Unit was set up in 2002 to pursue the possibility of a bid for the Olympic Games. It succeeded the Commonwealth Games Unit and was responsible for project management of the bid, co-ordination with government and the legislation team and staging preparations.