City of Westminster College held a celebration today to mark the official Handover of the Paralympic Flag to London. The handover in Beijing marks the close of the 2008 Olympiad and the start of the build up to London 2012.
Paddington Basin Campus and Paddington Recreation Ground were transformed into a ‘2012 Village’ for the day, with a range of Olympic and Paralympic events, including rowing, cycling, obstacle and relay races. Choice FM/MTV’s Kat acted as official host and students and staff from across the College’s five campuses took up the sporting challenge by competing in mixed competitions. Other students participated through organising, stewarding, filming and live arts performances.
Westminster City Council’s Olympic Committee made the day extra special by lending the College their official London Olympic and Paralympic handover flag.
Cllr Audrey Lewis, Cabinet Member for Customers and Neighbourhoods, said: “We are encouraged by the breadth of talent demonstrated through our local athletes.”
This is the first in a series of celebrations that will be held at City of Westminster College in the run up to London 2012. The College already offers a wide range of vocational training courses to help fulfil major event training needs. These include the BTEC National Certificate in Sports and a variety of travel, tourism and spectator management qualifications. With the opening of the College’s new Paddington Green Campus scheduled for autumn 2010, the College will be able to increase student numbers by 25 per cent and benefit from world-class facilities in the run up to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
College Principal Robin Shreeve said: “Today's celebration was the first of a programme of events at the College to inspire students to get involved in London 2012. I was closely involved with the process of training staff and volunteers for the Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games so it's a great pleasure to play a part in the build-up on home turf. It's going to be a very exciting and energising four years for City of Westminster College.”