Britain’s Olympic Bid received a massive boost today as London 2012 revealed an inspirational film starring global icons of sport, stage and screen. The pantheon of internationally-recognised stars who feature in ‘Sport at Heart’ include Sir Roger Moore, David Beckham, Amir Khan, Jeremy Irons, Kelly Holmes, Joseph Fiennes, and Matthew Pinsent. It includes five Gold medallists who won at the Athens Games.
The film was premiered today as London 2012 spelled out in full detail its bid for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, which was delivered to the IOC on Monday.
The film demonstrates the support for London’s bid from internationally recognised stars, and will help London 2012 Chairman Seb Coe and International President Keith Mills to start promoting the bid overseas.
The film follows Jo Ankier, an up and coming middle-distance female runner, jogging through London, showcasing some of the city’s most-recognisable sites – from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, to the Globe Theatre, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park.
As she passes, people are inspired by the power of sport – some breaking out into Olympic activities themselves, including a builder pole vaulting with a scaffold bar, a mechanic becoming a weightlifter, street-cleaners changing into hockey players, and City gentlemen fencing and echoing the baton-changing success of the GB 4 x 100m relay team.
Star appearances include Sir Roger Moore, reprising a James Bond-esque role outside the famous MI6 building on the Thames, with Samantha Bond, a latter-day Moneypenny; Jeremy Irons walking along the Thames; David Beckham solving a crossword in a café; Matthew Pinsent rowing a dinghy on The Serpentine; Joseph Fiennes being healed of stage-fright; Helen Mirren being helped by policemen; Amir Khan almost colliding with the runner as he gets out of his car; Martine McCutcheon being surprised when her Savoy doorman transforms into a gymnast; Kelly Holmes coming out of a hotel; Dermot O’Leary witnessing BA and Virgin Airways hostesses emulating speed-walkers; equestrian Gold medallist Leslie Law exercising police horses in Hyde Park. Heather Small, whose London 2012 theme track ‘Proud’ is the film’s soundtrack, appears as a Covent Garden busker.
England football skipper David Beckham said the Olympic Games would provide a massive boost for sport across the UK, including east London, his childhood home turf and proposed location for the Olympic Park.
‘I was born in Leytonstone in Waltham Forest, one of the host boroughs for the London Olympics, and I played football on Hackney Marshes as a kid, so I’m very keen to support the 2012 bid. It would be great if the Games came to Britain where the people really appreciate their sport.’
The film can be viewed at www.london2012.com
For further information please contact Toby Burnham or Zoe Anderson at Freud Communications on 020 7580 2626