National Youth Theatre to welcome the world's athletes to the London 2012 Games

Media Release - 17 October 2011

http://l2012.cm/wSWwNr 

Athletes competing in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer will be welcomed to the Athletes' Village by performers from the National Youth Theatre (NYT) in a formal ceremony.

The National Youth Theatre will create, write, stage and perform the Team Welcome Ceremonies which are designed to formally welcome the athletes & team officials to the Games. There will be over 100 ceremonies taking place on the days leading up to the Opening Ceremonies and London 2012 and NYT will welcome 204 Olympic teams and 170 Paralympic teams to the Athlete's Village and to the Games.

As well as a performance by the NYT the Team Welcome Ceremonies also consist of protocol moments such as the playing of national anthems and raising of flags.

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: 'The Team Welcome Ceremonies provide an opportunity for the athletes of the world to be welcomed to London and through the energy of the diverse young members of the National Youth Theatre, will be given their first impressions of a vibrant Games.'

Paul Roseby, Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre said: 'It is fitting that the best in young British talent from the length and breadth of the nation will be welcoming the world to our Games in 2012. We're honoured to be chosen to fill the Athlete's Village with something very special, full of the wit, diversity and innovation of British youth. It is poignant too given our growing international status, as our cultural exchange programme reaches across the globe to other countries including China and Saudi Arabia.'

Moira Sinclair, London Executive Director of Arts Council England said: 'London will be welcoming the world's best athletes in 2012, and it is only right that they are greeted by these wonderfully talented young people. The National Youth Theatre has been a key part of the London 2012 story since their performance in the Beijing Closing Ceremony. Their continued involvement now in these Team Welcome Ceremonies encapsulates our hope that the Games would offer new opportunities for our young people and a once in a lifetime showcase for our world-class arts on an international stage. We are thrilled for NYT and can't wait to see what they create in response to this moment.'

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Notes to editors:

National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre pursues an ambitious international programme, which has recently included performances at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Handover Ceremony, the 2009 FIFA Club World Club Cup in the UAE and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The charity is a beacon of excellence in youth arts in the UK and was the first youth theatre in the world. In 2009 NYT pioneered a bespoke new Stadium Arts Training course, which has since trained over 2,000 of its young members in the discipline of creating epic ensemble performances. In its 55 years NYT has nurtured some of Britain's finest acting talent, including: Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Catherine Tate and Matt Smith.

The NYT inspires and trains diverse young talent from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. They work with approximately 20,000 of Britain’s most talented young people every year.

For more information about the National Youth Theatre visit: http://www.nyt.org.uk/

LOCOG
As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games Partner, Sainsbury's and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Supplier, Otto Bock.

The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald's, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.