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SEE Arena: Gordon Lyons explains why Olympic event is important
News Letter
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03/10/2024
Sports Minister Gordon Lyons explains why Olympic homecoming event was so important.
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00:00
Speaking to Communities Minister Gordon Lyons here, just shortly before the Olympic reception
00:07
here in the SSA Arena. Minister, can you tell us why it was so important to have this reception
00:12
for our medal winners and competitors?
00:15
Well it's really important that we have this celebration tonight because it reflects just
00:19
how seriously we take the success of our Olympians and Paralympians in Paris this year. It was
00:26
an incredible achievement, not just in terms of the medal haul, but the number that qualified,
00:30
the personal records that were broken as well. So I wanted to make sure that we could have
00:34
a really good celebration that was fit for the achievements that we saw in Paris over
00:39
the summer time.
00:40
And no doubt this event is going to go down in history. Almost 5,000 people here. I've
00:44
seen some of the rehearsals already. It looks pretty impressive.
00:47
Yes, and the most important thing for me is that it's open to the public. Because first
00:52
of all I wanted to make sure that this is a celebration and that the public get the
00:56
opportunity to celebrate our athletes. But I also want to inspire the next generation
01:01
as well to get involved, to see what's possible with hard work, commitment and dedication.
01:06
So I hope tonight will be a night where we can properly celebrate and thank our athletes,
01:11
but at the same time inspire the next generation.
01:14
And I also see that you're making an announcement this evening that each athlete will be nominating
01:21
a recipient of special funding. Can you give us a little bit more information on that?
01:25
Can you tell us how much money is involved?
01:27
Yes, well I'm initially awarding £100,000 to be shared between our medalists in order
01:33
for them to support local grassroots clubs in their area. It's really important that
01:38
we support our elite athletes, but in order to get our elite athletes to that point we
01:44
also need to ensure that there is that support at a grassroots level as well. I am concerned
01:49
about the underfunding in sport, especially compared to other jurisdictions, and I want
01:54
to make sure that we're giving the incredible talent that we have here the best opportunities
01:59
so that they can reach their potential.
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