The Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and double Olympic Gold Medallist, made the visit to mark the involvement of schools from across West Sussex in the London 2012 Education programme, and the ongoing success of West Sussex initiatives linked to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Read the full story on the Ahead of the Game web site. 

View pictures of the event in the gallery.

Contact: Carolyn Carr, carolyn.carr@westsussex.gov.uk

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Events are planned across West Sussex to mark the one-year countdown to the start of the Olympic Games in 2012. Chichester, Crawley, Burgess Hill, Lancing and Horsham events are among those featured on the London 2012 Open Weekend event listing.

To view an event listing for West Sussex, visit the Ahead of the Game web site.

Contact: To register an event, visit the London 2012 web site.

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London 2012 has confirmed the Olympic Flame will come within one hour's journey of 95 per cent of the UK, with the aim of spreading the excitement of the Games to everyone. London 2012 has announced the towns and cities that will host celebrations on each evening of the Torch Relay, as well as daytime island visits. The locations include Portsmouth, Brighton & Hove, and Guildford.

London 2012 will announce more locations along the route later in the year. Deborah Urquhart, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, made the following statement on behalf of the West Sussex London 2012 Games Partnership: “It is great news for those cities and towns who have been selected to host an evening celebration, and we look forward to talking to London 2012 about how West Sussex can be involved.”

Visit the London 2012 web site to find out where the Flame is going to visit.

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The Boat Project, based at Thornham Marina, West Sussex, is one of the Cultural Olympiad’s Artists Taking the Lead projects. Artists Lone Twin would like a mix of people for the team, ranging from experienced sailors to complete novices.

The next `wood donation event` planned for West Sussex will be at Billingshurst Library on Saturday 16 July 11:00 – 16:00. Wood can also be donated at the boat shed in Thornham Marina.

Contact:  Visit www.theboatproject.com to find out more.

Photo: Credit to Lone Twin

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Whispering Woods 2011 is a large-scale choral event designed to give singers of every ability the unique experience of singing in the landscape at night.

The evening of Saturday 23 July will see the next event in the beautiful setting of St Roche’s Arboretum, West Dean (4 miles north of Chichester). Choirs taking part include those from the Westergate and Lavant Valley areas of Chichester district and the Crawley, Horsham and Shoreham areas of the County, totalling 150 singers.

The overall theme of the Whispering Woods repertoire will be ‘elemental’ - linking our songs to the landscape in which we they are being sung, and drawing from polyphonic singing traditions from around the world.

Contact: Paul Ackerly, Creative Producer, paul.ackerley@talktalk.net

Whispering Woods 2011 is the second of three events growing in scale to 2012, and is part of the West Sussex-Ahead of the Game Cultural Programme.

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The new free online network resource for the whole of the arts, cultural & creative industries in West Sussex can be accessed at Creative West Sussex website.

Take a look around, click the 'Join' link at the top of the page to register and have a look at some of the great profiles, news, events and opportunities already posted on the site. And because the content of the site is created by its users, the site will be a great place to get up to the minute news and information direct from the local creative community.

Once you're registered you can get involved in all the community aspects of the site and post your own content, make contact with other members, add star ratings to content posted by others, post reviews and comments, and also receive the newsletter packed with the latest creative news from the county.

If you have a business, project, place, event or any creative endeavour you'd like to share on the site, make sure to click 'My Space' to create your own profile and begin sharing your latest news, information, events and opportunities with the rest of the community.

Contact: Jason Bradberry, Arts Officer, jason.bradberry@westsussex.gov.uk

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Dromos Travelling Festival is a new free travelling festival coming to West Sussex in July, 2011 as part of the West Sussex-Ahead of the Game Cultural Programme. With its team of young producers, guided by experienced mentoring industry professionals, the festival will deliver an eclectic mix of music, theatre and dance that the whole family can enjoy.

Dromos will be visiting two venues this year - the Amphitheatre at The Hawth, Crawley on the 9th July, and Coombes Farm, Lancing on the 24th July. It’s the perfect opportunity to come and enjoy what’s best in West Sussex, and beyond. Expect a relaxed atmosphere and a fun, family day out.

Highlights including bands such as Brighton based 'Two Spot Gobi' and 'Common Tongues', and up and coming artists 'Ryan Whitmore' and 'Forestears'. Dromos will also be showcasing theatre from Edinburgh favourites and award winners 'Little Bulb Theatre Company' and 'The River People', who will be performing two new family shows. Come and experience entertaining live performance from some of the country's most exciting theatre companies.  As if that wasn't enough, the all male 'Udify Dance Company' will be performing contemporary dance through out the day.

With all this plus much much more, why not come and celebrate the start of summer, all for the affordable price of free! Food and refreshments will be available on site.

Dromos festival has recently been awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark. It is part of the Ahead of the Game cultural programme, West Sussex Arts Partnership’s initiative to celebrate the London 2012 Games, funded by West Sussex County Council, Chichester District Council, Crawley Borough Council, Horsham District Council, Mid Sussex District Council and Arts Council England.

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Schools and colleges must apply to join the Get Set network by 16th December 2011 to be able to claim an allocation of tickets to the Olympic and Paralympic Games at no cost.

Up to 100 000 tickets are being made available to children and young people in schools and colleges across the UK through the London 2012 Ticketshare initiative, which is funded through a levy on Prestige Hospitality packages. 

All West Sussex schools are encouraged to take the first step and register for Get Set – 65% of  schools in the county are already involved.  Schools are then able to apply to join the network, and get access to the special benefits.

Contact: For more information visit the London 2012 Education web site.

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London 2012 has created a series of Get Set network toolkits to help schools and colleges submit applications to join the Get Set network.  There are different versions of the toolkit depending on what type of school is applying, with specific and relevant case studies and images. There are also sample applications online. All West Sussex schools and colleges are encouraged to join the Network, to have the best opportunity to access London 2012 opportunities.

Contact: Visit the London 2012 education web site to view or download the resources.

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Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, and Seb Coe, London 2012 Chairman, have written to all schools urging them to sign up for the School Games. The aim is to provide a  unique opportunity to motivate and inspire millions of young people across the country to take part in more competitive sport. Schools can register their interest and download a copy of the prospectus for primary or secondary schools at the new School Games web site.

Contact:  Visit the School Games web site for more information.

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The Memorandum of Understanding between Grenada Olympic Committee, Horsham District Council and West Sussex County Council was signed recently by Veda Bruno Victor (General Secretary of the Grenada NOC) in the presence of Deborah Urquhart, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy. Read the full story on the Ahead of the Game web site.

Contact: Leigh Chambers, Projects Officer, leigh.chambers@horsham.gov.uk

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Following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Crawley, West Sussex and the Finnish Paralympic Committee, forthcoming training camps at K2 Crawley are being finalised. Boccia players will visit in August, and swimmers in September. The camps will be the first activities to take place through our partnership in the build up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Contact: Kate Wilson, Crawley Borough Council, Kate.Wilson@crawley.gov.uk

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The display has life-sized images of the sports stars, and can be found at Gatwick’s South Terminal, outside central search 1 and in the arrivals hall.

The project is led by West Sussex - Ahead of the Game, in partnership with Gatwick Airport.

 To find out more please visit the West Sussex - Ahead of the Game website

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