Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said the legacy of Team GB “can’t just be measured in medals” at a star-studded homecoming event for athletes from the Paris Olympics.
Ms Nandy said the athletes had changed “forever” the lives of children who had “seen ordinary people going on to do the most extraordinary things”.
She made the comments at the National Lottery’s Team GB Homecoming at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday.
Past medal-winning athletes Anita Lonsbrough, Tessa Sanderson, Lady Mary Peters, Beth Tweddle and Dame Denise Lewis were all present to welcome this year’s Olympians.
Rowing gold medal winners Georgina Brayshaw, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Lauren Henry posed for a group photograph with singer Rag’n’Bone Man.
The rowing champions were also pictured with singers Nina Nesbitt and Kelli-Leigh on the red carpet.
Jess Glynne, Pete Tong, Emma Willis, Vernon Kay and the members of Clean Bandit were among the other showbiz faces at the event.
Ms Nandy, who was pictured with 800m gold medal winner Keely Hodgkinson, said the athletes would “change kids’ lives who they’ll never, ever meet”.
The Culture Secretary told the PA news agency: “Their lives will be changed forever because they’ve seen ordinary people going on to do the most extraordinary things, and they believe now that perhaps they can do the same with their lives.
We know that there are Keely Hodgkinsons out there growing up who don't have access to the facilities and opportunities that she had, and that's got to change
Lisa Nandy
“That’s the legacy that these athletes leave behind. It can’t just be measured in medals.
“I’m really proud of the medal haul, but it can’t just be measured in that – the magic that they’ve brought to people’s lives will live on for a long, long time.”
Ms Nandy added: “It’s been an incredible summer, and actually, we do incredibly well at sport as a nation.
“But as a new Government, our job is to make sure that those kids who are turning on their tellies this summer didn’t just have dreams, but they have a plan and the help to get there.
“It’s why we’re committed to investing in grassroots sport. It’s why we’ve already launched a review of the curriculum to put sports and art back at its centre.
“Because we know that there are Keely Hodgkinsons out there growing up who don’t have access to the facilities and opportunities that she had, and that’s got to change.”
The National Lottery’s Team GB Homecoming event, to be broadcast on BBC1 at 8.30pm on Sunday, celebrates the athletes and thanks those who took part in the lottery for helping to raise £1.5 billion of funding for elite sport.
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