POSTED: September 11th 2009
NewsUpdate
Madrid 2016 means new beginnings
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT / Sports Features Communications
MADRID: September can mean a new beginning for many more than the children and students heading back to their classrooms and universities. This September sees the run-up to a new beginning for one city.
On October 2 the city which is awarded the honour of hosting the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will begin an amazing journey that will leave an incomparable physical and social legacy.
The Madrid 2016 bid team believes that a Games in Madrid would deliver not only a wonderful and enjoyable experience for the duration of the Games but signify the start of a program of regeneration and rejuvenation for the city, for Spain and for the world.
An Olympic and Paralympic Games in Madrid would signal a new beginning and a fantastic new learning opportunity for both the city and the Olympic movement, according to Mercedes Coghen, Madrid 2016 bid ceo.
Transformative experience
She says: “The 1992 Barcelona Games provided an amazing, transformative experience for Barcelona and Spain. The Games as an event was one of the most lively, well organised and passionately supported in recent memory and the legacy for sport, tourism and development was unprecedented.
"As a bid team were are incredibly lucky to have such an inspirational example to learn from and live up to. It was about creating lasting memories for years, and we want to look forward to the future. We know that Madrid can organise a Games that is just as memorable, fun and life-changing as Barcelona was and will also live on for many generations to come.”
The Olympic Games would undeniably do wonders for Madrid. The new venues would not only provide world-class venues for Olympic athletes but would become invaluable resources for local, regional and national squads in a huge range of sports.
They would also serve as a community resource within a 10-minute walk of every Madrid home. This is the first step in turning Madrid into one of the greatest sporting cities of the twenty-first century.
The health of the city is almost as important as the health of its citizens and environmental concerns are at the forefront of the city’s transformation. Developers of the Games and the city will champion the use of sustainable building materials, renewable energy sources and the creation of extensive green spaces and bicycle lanes.
Social and physical change
Madrid will undergo social as well as physical change. The Generation 16 program, which has already guaranteed an extra weekly hour of sport in Spanish schools, is reaching out to people of all ages and backgrounds to teach and enthuse them about the physical and social benefits of sport.
Spain boasts some of the most internationally famous and successful sports men and women of all time. Part of Madrid’s legacy would be to produce the successors of Rafael Nadal, Fernando Alonso, Alberto Contador and Teresa Perales, outstanding sports people who all support Madrid’s bid wholeheartedly.
Cophen says: “The values of the Olympic movement have taught Madrileños and Spaniards a huge amount about friendship, fair play, integration and giving of your best at every opportunity. As a bid team we continue to learn from, and be inspired by, the dedication and passion of all the athletes, volunteers, supporters and young people we meet.
“We in turn hope to be able to teach the world what we have learned about placing sport at the heart of city-living for a healthy, happy, peaceful future for everyone.”
Keywords · Madrid 2016 · Olympic Bids · Mercedes Coghen
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Laura Walden ()
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