Olympic Games and Paralympic Games 2012

Baroness Grey-Thompson Excerpts

Monday 14th June 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Grey-Thompson]

My Lords, it is with great pleasure that I address this House for the first time on a debate that is close to my heart, but first I should like to say what a privilege it is to be a Member of this House—something that I, and perhaps my politics professor at university, never thought would happen.

I have been overwhelmed by the kindness shown to me before and since my introduction into this House. I express my deep thanks to my sponsors, the noble Lord, Lord Coe, and the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay. I also thank the Convenor of the Cross Benches, the noble Baroness, Lady D’Souza, and the many other noble Lords who have taken the time to welcome me.

I also take this opportunity to thank the numerous members of staff—the Doorkeepers, Attendants and police of the parliamentary estate—who appear to be able to spot a confused glance at 20 paces and who have kindly and gently guided me in the right direction.

I know that the noble Lord, Lord Coe, was very keen to contribute to the debate today. However, he is tonight hosting an annual fundraising event for the charity established in the memory of his mother and, as he is unable to stay for the whole debate, he has asked me to pass on his great regret that he cannot contribute. However, he assures noble Lords of his continuing thanks for their interest in the progress being made towards staging the Games in 2012.

I spent 20 years of my life having the privilege of wearing a British tracksuit competing for our country. That is something that will always be truly special. I hope that I have learnt through my athletics career that to be successful requires time to learn the rules, persistence but, above all, hard work. I sincerely hope that I can serve this House well.

While competing, I recognised that the career of an athlete can be relatively short, so I involved myself in the wider aspects of sport, such as the Sports Council for Wales, UK Sport, UK Athletics, the London Marathon, the London bid for the 2012 Games and, to widen my experience, other organisations outside sport such as the National Disability Council and Transport for London. In this debate, I declare an interest in that I sit on a number of LOCOG committees.

When I started in athletics some 27 years ago, the United Kingdom was a very different place for disabled people. My parents fought hard to get me into mainstream education—something that I strongly believe gave me the right platform on which to build my sporting career. Back then, the word “Paralympic” and the spirit that the Games came to represent were not yet known. As I am sure many noble Lords will be aware, it was at Stoke Mandeville that Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the eminent spinal surgeon, recognised that disabled people not only enjoyed doing sport but indeed were competitive. Sport then and now continues to help challenge attitudes towards disabled people, and in 1960 the first international games for disabled people were held.

In my early career, two things had a profound effect on me: watching the 1984 Olympic Games and the noble Lord, Lord Coe; and, in 1985, seeing a fellow Welsh wheelchair athlete, Chris Hallam, win the London Marathon. Those inspired me to take sport more seriously. I am very proud of my Welsh roots and the support that I received there. The same goes for the north of England, where I now live.

It was not until 1988 that the term “Paralympic” was used and, as that was my first Games, it changed my life. I became involved in the bid for 2012 because from the beginning it was not about hosting the Olympics and then having to put on another event a couple of weeks later; it was about organising the Olympic and Paralympic Games with one committee of the same high quality. For me, the Paralympic Games have two messages. They are about one person or a team winning and the rest not—about sport at its purest level—and about spreading inclusion and change.

The Games that we expect, and I know we will see, will be well organised, with exciting sports presentation, but it is behind the scenes—the Games that we do not immediately think about—that has the ability to promote significant change. London has led the way in organising a Paralympic Games that will raise the bar for sponsorship, sustainability, transport and inclusion that other countries will want to follow. The Games grow every quadrennial, and nations want to be part of them, but for that they need social provision for disabled people. This is just one way in which the Games extend influence. One has only to look at what the Chinese Paralympic team was able to achieve in a few short years, finishing top of the medal table in both 2004 and 2008, to see that change can come. I sincerely hope to welcome their team to London in 2012, along with many other countries that are finding it the right time to think about how they provide for their disabled people.

There are many examples of good practice within LOCOG. Because of its passion for diversity and inclusion, unprecedented numbers of disabled people are applying to work for it, and the organisation has become one of the most attractive employers of choice for disabled people. That has happened because we aimed high. At the 2012 Games, the British Paralympic team will have about 300 athletes, and through them we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase disability sport and to educate and enthuse the British public, who already show great support.

I recognise that the legacy of the Olympics and Paralympics is not the responsibility of the organising committee nor of the Games—I know that the noble Baroness, Lady Ford, is working on that. We know from previous Games that in the autumn of 2012 there should be a spike in participation rates in physical activity, but we need to work hard right now to maximise that, because I believe—perhaps surprisingly—that elite competitive sport is not quite for all. Involvement in physical fitness can help lead to improved learning, greater confidence and general wellness: all the things that we want for our young people.

I recognise that we have to face many challenges in sport in the tough economic times ahead. We need to ensure that all young people continue to have access to great physical activity both in and outside school; that disabled children have the right and the opportunity to be included; and that girls find the right environment in which to develop their skills to allow them to compete in the wider world. We know that currently women are employed in only one in five of the top jobs in sport. To be a successful nation, not just in sport but in business, we should challenge that, because sport is a microcosm of society.

The few weeks of the Games cannot change all these things, nor are they meant to. They are meant to be a spectacular showcase of the best that we have to offer. We all need to grasp the opportunity of the Games being on home soil to inspire our nation to think differently and to include every part of our great nation. It is an amazing opportunity for us all to pull together.

There are 807 days until the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games and 774 days until the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. For the athletes hoping to compete, there are perhaps 1,700 or so training sessions. There is a lot to do and much that we should hope to do. I wish the noble Lord, Lord Coe, and the noble Baroness, Lady Ford, success with their work, and wish our Paralympic and Olympic teams the best of luck in their preparations.