A partnership and co-produced project with LLDC’s Elevate Board to gather people’s views on legacy to date and potential future legacy.
Grant amount
Date awarded
Project duration
Location
The London 2012 Legacy partnership project was designed to bring the legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games – past, present and future – to the forefront. A grant of £120,000 was awarded to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), the organisation responsible for the regeneration of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park area after the 2012 Games.
In partnership with LLDC and Spirit of 2012, the project was led by the Elevate Board, a Legacy Youth Board made up and led by a dedicated group of 18–25 year olds, all based in the Olympic host boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. This was a solicited application by Spirit of 2012, and our final grant to be awarded. The decision to invest in this project marked the significance of our Olympic and Paralympic heritage and gave us the opportunity to ask what legacy could look like in the future, while ensuring that the perspective and experience of young east Londoners continues to shape this. Spirit met with Elevate to outline our early thinking for the project and to explore ideas with them, before the grant was awarded in October 2023.
The grant was used to support two strands of work. Spirit commissioned Elevate to undertake peer-to-peer research exploring how young people in East London, particularly those from traditionally underrepresented communities, perceive the legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This research consultation was undertaken with the aim to gain a better understanding of how young people view the legacy 20 years on, with engagement across the four boroughs. Young people highlighted the positive impact of regeneration in east London, praising improved transport, new public spaces, and world-class sports venues such as the Aquatics Centre and Velodrome. They also noted that the arrival of institutions like UCL East and Here East had opened up new educational pathways and job opportunities that will help to shape the future workforce. The consultation also emphasised the need for accessible, practical initiatives to improve prospects for young people, particularly around job opportunities, mental health, and skills development. The report on findings was launched at an event at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in April 2025.
Alongside the research, was the launch of the Elevate Fund. Through this Fund, £83,751 was distributed to support young people and youth-invested organisations from the London 2012 host boroughs. A short film was commissioned highlighting some of the work of grant recipients and a report on the Fund’s reach and impact can be read here. The Fund was an effective pilot which the Elevate Board and LLDC gained valuable learning from, with the potential for it to be adapted and repeated in the future.
Key achievements
The aim with the Elevate Fund was to reach young people, small social enterprises and youth invested organisations who had never previously received funding. The three strands of funding were to designed to be accessible and for a range of projects or ideas of various scale to be supported. Through the Fund:
The impact of co-designing the London 2012 Partnership project was also significant for the Elevate Board. Their contributions produced a model for youth-led change in the communities that they lived in and directly shaped research and funding decisions. With training also part of the offering, this helped them to build confidence and professional skills, including public speaking, event management, leadership and collaboration and branding and marketing.
Project research was co-designed and delivered by the Elevate Board, with support from community engagement specialists Kaizen Partnership. The team used a range of methods including outreach, interviews, online surveys and focus groups to engage with 886 residents between the ages of 14-34 from the four local boroughs. The research revealed that:
This research provides direction for the Elevate programme and other local initiatives, aiming to adopt more inclusive, accessible, and supportive environments where young people can thrive.
Giving local people the means to fund activities that make a difference to wellbeing and social connection in fourteen communities across the UK.
A grant to help establish a volunteering legacy in Birmingham following the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Spirit of 2012 is a legacy partner of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and was awarded £1.3 million by the Scottish Government to get the least active people in Scotland more active and generate learning for the benefit of the rest of Scotland.
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.