Coventry's Ricoh Arena to host Olympic Festival - The Coventry Observer

Coventry's Ricoh Arena to host Olympic Festival

Coventry Editorial 11th Aug, 2016 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

A SPORTING festival will take over the Ricoh Arena later this month to celebrate the return of Britain’s Olympic heroes.

The venue has been chosen along with the sets of Coronation Street and Emmerdale by organisers of the nation’s biggest sports day, called I Am Team GB, to put on a variety of activities for families around the UK on August 27.

The one-day national event is being held to encourage people of all ages to try a new sport to mark the end of the Olympics and the start of the Paralympics, with ITV switching off their seven channels for one hour at 9.30am.

To celebrate the support the nation gives the athletes by playing The National Lottery, Team GB’s returning Olympians will join famous faces from ITV at events across the UK.  Over £80 million has been raised each year by National Lottery players to help fund elite athletes during the four-year build-up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.




In the Midlands, the sporting action will get underway in the Ricoh’s Jaguar Exhibition Hall at 9.30am and will run until 3pm.

A bumper 17 different sports will be on offer for visitors which will include short rugby games, netball coaching tips from England and Wasps netball, and tennis coaching sessions provided by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) along with Coventry North Warwickshire and Berkswell Tennis Club


Pop up golf and badminton will be provided by Coventry Sports Foundation and the Positive Youth Foundation will be hosting street cricket.

Other sports to look out for on the day also include football, equestrian, athletics, judo, cycling, basketball, wheelchair basketball, gymnastics, street dancing, cheerleading and volleyball.

The event is taking place in conjunction with the British Olympic Association (BOA), UK Sport and is supported by sport volunteering charity Join In. For more information about taking part in I Am Team GB visit www.iamteamgb.com

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