Get Set to Welcome Olympic and Paralympic Athletes to Bedford Borough
It is now confirmed that Bedford Borough will host 14 Paralympic teams and an Olympic team for pre-games training in the lead up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer. The fact that our Borough will be welcoming so many teams from around the world - more than anywhere else in the country except sailing competition host Weymouth - is something I think we can be very proud of locally. It's a testament to Bedford's sporting culture and heritage, to the sporting facilities we enjoy and to welcome that the teams know they will receive when making our Borough their pre-games base.
I met representatives of many of the teams during visits they made prior to deciding on where to base themselves prior to the games, and it was remarkable how the facilities we have and the genuine sense of community locally made 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.
The teams, comprising over 250 athletes, will start to arrive from the 15th of June. The nations which have agreed to be based in Bedford Borough are as follows:
- 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 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
The summer of 2012 really is shaping up to be an exciting time in the borough, with the Kite Festival, Diamond Jubilee celebrations, River Festival, the Olympic Torch relay and the Olympic 'Live Site' at the Athletics Stadium, which will feature the action on the big screen as part of a free festival celebrating the Olympics.