Has the Olympic Legacy fallen at its first hurdle?

Away from the media circus it would appear that the fabric that binds together the Olympic Legacy is beginning the show signs of wear.

As the athletes are pictured by Flyer Newspaper arriving back from competing at the Anniversary Games in London, there are renewed questions with regards the commitment and the ability to deliver on  the promise to deliver London’s 2012 Olympic Legacy.

The Olympic Legacy has already faced criticism due to the withdrawal of sports funding programmes for schools, and the allocation of government contracts, however the disconnect between Britain’s diverse media and the organisation responsible for delivering the games look set to spiral downwards.

The positives to have come out of London 2012 was the delivery of volunteering programs which gave so many people a sense of belonging and purpose. The opportunity to deliver the legacy of London 2012 faces an uphill battle due to the sidelining of minority media during the London 2012 games.

The 2013 Anniversary was a chance to build bridges that were broken and deliver the legacy in the vision of Danny Boyle that embraced, equality, unity  and multiculturalism.

Sadly this was not the case and the disconnect was very apparent at the 2013 Anniversary Games. Britain’s regional and minority media provide a pivotal role in promoting and featuring rising stars, many of which have risen from minority backgrounds:

Golden Girl of UK athletics Jessica Ennis’s father is Jamaican for example. Kelly Holmes, Linford Christie, Perri Shakes-Drayton, Dalton Grant, Colin Jackson also have Caribbean parentage. Whilst stars Mo Farrah, Christine Ohuruogo are of African origin.

The media accreditation of London 2012 overlooked the Olympic teams demography. Britain’s diverse media were sidelined from the 2012 the line-up so here was a chance to make amends for such an oversight in 2013 you might think?

Not the case, the organisation still appear to be hell-bent on money over minority but if you take away the minority from the legacy the crowds would simply not exist. Can you imagine games without Mo Farrah, Usain Bolt or Jessica Ennis?

The long shot is that the disconnect between the elite and the grass roots of athletics is widening. As Britain looks towards emerging economies such as Brazil, India and Africa to help fund initiatives to support the legacy programmes there will be an increasing reliance on diverse media in the building of trade-links.

The legacy of 2012 should forever be the benchmark of unity and the positives of multiculturalism but this is certainly far from the case. The cracks are fairly visible if you scratch beneath the surface.

Whether it is still possible to harness a horse, which has bolted, still remains to be seen.

Stars of the Anniversary Games: Sally Pearson (above) and Allyson Felix (below).

The Jamaican athletes were seen wearing branded headphones.

Article quotes:

Disconnect between Britain’s diverse media and the organisation.

Opportunity to deliver the legacy of London 2012 faces an uphill battle due to the sidelining of minority media.

The 2013 Anniversary was a chance to build bridges that were broken and deliver the legacy in the vision of Danny Boyle that embraced, equality, unity  and multiculturalism.

The positives to have come out of London 2012 was the delivery of volunteering programs which gave so many people a sense of belonging and purpose.

Britain’s regional and minority media provide a pivotal role in promoting and featuring rising stars.

Golden Girl of UK athletics Jessica Ennis’s father is Jamaican for example. Kelly Holmes, Linford Christie, Perri Shakes-Drayton, Dalton Grant, Colin Jackson also have Caribbean parentage.

The media accreditation of twenty twelve overlooked the Olympic teams demography.

The legacy of 2012 should forever be the benchmark of unity, equality and the positives of multiculturalism.