Coventry and Warwickshire 2012 Partnership

Hundreds of people from across Coventry and Warwickshire have celebrated the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as the two-years-to-go mark is reached.

London 2012 Open Weekend, supported by BP, has been held for the third successive year with 11 events staged in the region all of which invited people to challenge themselves or try something new.

Coventry and Warwickshire played a big role in the celebrations which saw around 42,000 people attend 56 events across the wider West Midlands region.

Open Weekend, which was held from Friday, July 23 to Sunday, July 25, aims to help people share in the excitement of the Games, be inspired, get involved, unleash creativity and try something new.

Five of the London 2012 Open Weekend events were held in Rugby with Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, in Little Elborow Street hosting a textiles exhibition, a workshop on making prehistoric tools and an exhibition of artwork and objects inspired by the Olympic Games.

Rugby School gave visitors the chance to tour their historic buildings while a sports taster day was held in the town’s Caldecott Park.

Four events were held in Coventry where a giant metal whale descended on the Institute for Creative Enterprise, in Parkside, and audiences were treated to short theatre performances inside the structure.

The City Arcade played host to the Bubble Chamber which combined dance film and interactive projections to bring an empty shop space alive and choir auditions were held at Blue Coat School, in Terry Road.

And at the Ricoh Arena Community Space the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership for the 2012 Games teamed up with the Coventry Community Empowerment Network (CEN) to help people discover how they and their community can get involved in the run up to the London 2012.

In Leamington an open tennis tournament was held in Victoria Park while the Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum, in the Parade, hosted a story telling session.

Will Bastin, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership assistant for the 2012 Games, said: “The London 2012 Open Weekend gives people in the region the chance to take part in a range of London 2012 activities wherever they live and it was fantastic to see so many events taking place across Coventry and Warwickshire.

 “Our event at the Ricoh Arena Community Space was designed to give people the tools and information to go out and get involved in existing programmes or to take the inspiration of the Games back into the heart of their community and create their own project.

“We have set the challenge for these community groups to get involved and we hope that they embrace the many opportunities that are available.”

The Community Information Fair at the Ricoh Arena Community Space on Saturday, July 24 saw Olympian David Moorcroft give an opening presentation before attendees received information from a range of speakers on the West Midlands Cultural programme for 2012, the inspire mark, volunteering, funding for projects and national London 2012 initiatives.