Deloitte welcomes the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic mascots to Wales |
Deloitte, the official professional services provider to London 2012, has welcomed the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic mascots to Wales, together with some of Britain’s 2012 hopefuls themselves in a special event in Cardiff.
Children from across South Wales were invited by Deloitte to meet and have photographs taken with the London 2012 mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville, as well as to participate in a range of sporting activities from table tennis to soft javelin alongside their 2012 heroes.
Athletes including World Paralympic javelin gold medalist Nathan Stephens, Welsh number one discus thrower Brett Morse and former Commonwealth Games boxing gold medallist Sean McGoldrick were among the many athletes who attended the event at SWALEC Stadium and answered questions put to them by children and parents.
Paralympic athlete Nathan Stephens said: "With the Olympic and Paralympic Games this year, we want to try to get everyone behind us and make them feel part of the Games. We want to make the public proud of us representing them and it's events like this that help them to realise that we're not just doing it for us; we're doing it for them and for the entire country too.
"You always hear about how children need to be more active and we want to come to events such as this to inspire the younger generation to get out there and enjoy sport. Hopefully, seeing us do well will inspire them to go on to do great things."
The event was part of a range of activities which have been organised by Deloitte in a bid to encourage members of the community across Wales to feel part of the Games, to maximise the opportunities that London 2012 will create and to encourage young people in the region to participate in sport and exercise themselves. The event was also strongly supported by Disability Sport Wales.
Ian Stone, regional London 2012 Partner at Deloitte in Cardiff, said: “This was a particularly important event for Deloitte, as it not only enabled us to welcome both of the official 2012 mascots to Wales for children to enjoy but it also allowed us to bring athletes who will be representing our country in the Games closer to members of the Welsh community.
“London 2012 will impact communities and businesses all over the UK. Bringing an element of the Games into the community on a regional level is key to increasing awareness of what 2012 means for the UK in the eyes of the younger generation, as well as encouraging the Welsh public to feel a real part of London 2012.”
During the day children were also given the opportunity to meet Glamorgan cricket players including Simon Jones and Gareth Rees, as well as Cardiff City footballers Craig Conway and Don Cowie, who were on hand to sign autographs and to participate in the day’s sporting events with the children.
Millie Connolly, aged seven from Cardiff, said: "We played table tennis and did some running too with the athletes and the mascots are really cool. I was very excited about coming here."
