The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), who will be recruiting the volunteers will need volunteers for a range of duties, including stewarding, the issuing of tickets and looking after athletes. We will also need skilled volunteers such as language experts, medical volunteers and sports volunteers such as referees.
LOCOG will be launching the offical Volunteer Programme in 2010. In the meantime, you can register your interest on the London 2012 website. Over 100,000 people have already registered their interest.
We want to ensure that everyone has the chance to volunteer at the Games – including people from hard to reach communities, and individuals who do not normally volunteer. That is why LOCOG is working with the Greater London Authority and central Government to develop a Pre-Games Volunteering Programme (PVP). The PVP will provide participants with the skills needed to apply to volunteer at the Games. These same skills will also help individuals compete in the job market, or to volunteer at other events.
It is important to note that the recruitment and selction of volunteers for the 2012 Games will not be organised on a first come first served basis. Rather, volunteers will be selected for a number of reasons – particularly their volunteering experience.
That is why we are encouraging people to start building their volunteering experience within their local community.
There are many ways in which you can get involved in volunteering now – from helping to run local sports clubs, getting involved with your local community, to other opportunities within the arts and heritage sectors.
The following websites have more information on opportunities to get involved:
You can watch Tessa Jowell's trip to India, where she volunteered as part of the Magic Bus programme, on Youtube. The programme uses sport to help change the lives of young people growing up in a developing country.
