Using the inspiration of the London 2012 Games to advocate for genuine inclusion at the heart of all events, large and small
In the ten years since Spirit of 2012 was established, we have funded many projects with inclusion as their focus. Our aim is to help ensure that disabled and non-disabled people can take part together as audience members, participants, volunteers and staff.
Our wealth of knowledge and insights will show decision makers, events organisers and delivery organisations the benefits of bringing together disabled and non-disabled people in meaningful and how events can be intentionally designed to be accessible, diverse and inclusive from their inception to their legacy.
Find out more by looking at our work around events like the London 2012 Games, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Cities of Culture as well as landmark reports on inclusive volunteering and inclusive events.
Unlimited Impact focused on developing and inspiring the next generation of disabled people passionate about making change through art.
Spirit funded Creative Arts East to deliver Our Day Out, a unique dementia-friendly programme of creative arts for rurally-isolated older people in Norfolk.
National Paralympic Day is a celebration of the Paralympic movement and an opportunity for people in the UK to come together to relive the wonder of London 2012.
Inspired Action was run by the British Red Cross and aimed to remove barriers to volunteering for young disabled and non-disabled people.
Get Out, Get Active is an initiative to get people active in locations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A major part of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 Cultural Festival, Critical Mass saw nearly 250 disabled and non-disabled young people from diverse backgrounds take part in inclusive dance and perform to a worldwide audience.
The Changing Lives Fund was a partnership between the Scottish Government, sportscotland, the Robertson Trust and Spirit of 2012.
The buzz of a new academic year is exciting for any child. It’s no different for the attendees of Ysgol Bro Cinmeirch, a small primary school in Llanrhaeadr, Denbighshire – a village in North Wales so rural that the local minicab companies pitch in to help with the morning school run each day. And yet,…
The London 2012 Games has been seen as a turning point for attitudes towards disabled people in the UK, and our Paralympic Anniversary research suggests that most of the public agree: 70% of people believe the London 2012 Games had a positive impact on attitudes towards disabled people, and only 6% disagreed. Two thirds of…
There’s a viral challenge doing the rounds. You know the one, you face a wall, lift your foot up to the wall, pivot, put your hands on the floor, lift the other leg up to meet it and bring it over your back and head. It looks easy, but of course it’s not. Why am…
Despite spending fifteen years working in journalism and having covered local sports events in Pakistan, the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships (CWC) represented the first international sports event I have had the opportunity to attend in person. I was pleasantly surprised, as a Pakistani woman who had not been brought up to see cycling as…
Spirit of 2012 is very proud to have funded GOGA for the last 7 years and to have committed £7.5m to the programme – being the founding funder in Phase 1 and then joined by Sport England and London Marathon Foundation. Attending the GOGA conference and celebration event is a bittersweet moment for me. As…
The Renaisi report commissioned by Spirit of 2012 Changing perceptions of disability through sports, arts, and culture: what works and what challenges exist? explores the lessons learnt from projects funded by the independent trust set up to recreate the pride and positivity of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games. First and foremost, this report…
Events such as this summer’s Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the Women’s Euros and Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games have a very important role to play in breaking down prejudice and stereotypes in society, according to a new report by thinktank British Future for a major Inquiry by Spirit of 2012. By bringing people together, the events enable so-called…
Get Out Get Active (GOGA) is celebrating the International Day for Disabled People and the importance of inclusive activity. Two years since GOGA began, they have supported over 13,000 unique participants to take part in various activities across the country. Funded by Spirit of 2012, all partners are focused on getting some of the UK’s…
Today the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket publishes its long-awaited report into the realities of people’s experiences in cricket. The Commission was established more than two years ago, in March 2021, in response to serious allegations about discrimination and racism in the professional game. The Commission’s findings are important to Spirit of 2012, and…
Our FestivalsConnect project, funded by Spirit of 2012 is concerned with exploring the relationship between festivals and events of different scale, geographical location, and genre (i.e. sporting or cultural) in strengthening equality, diversity and inclusion outcomes. There is evidence that the rhetoric around using festivals and events to catalyse progressive social change often fails to…
Spirit of 2012 is a proud supporter of DanceSyndrome. Formed by dancer Jen Blackwell, who has Down’s Syndrome, they provide creative and fun learning opportunities for anyone who wants to improve their physical health and personal wellbeing. Spirit have recently awarded funding to enable their continued provision of inclusive dance workshops and leadership training. DanceSyndrome…
As someone who runs, plays football and likes to get a sweat on, I understand the benefits of being active on people’s physical, mental and social wellbeing. But I know that becoming active isn’t always easy. For inactive people there are many barriers. The UK population is now more physically inactive than at any time…
Spirit of 2012 has announced today that it will award £60,000 to Swim England to fund a new project aiming to increase inclusion and accessibility across their volunteering structure. The Ripple Effect aims to break down barriers for people who want to become volunteers and encourage them to get involved with aquatic sports. The two-year…
The pandemic has seen a surge in volunteering, with the Together Coalition’s Talk Together research suggesting that 12.4 million people offered their time in 2020. Among this group were 4.6 million first-time volunteers, including 360,000 people who are disabled or have a long-term health condition. This research and other studies on volunteering show that similar…