A games to inspire a whole generation in Newcastle

A games to inspire a whole generation…

The Olympic Stadium Newcastle is very fortunate in that just across the water in Gateshead, a medium-sized athletics stadium already exists. Ahead of the games, the Gateshead International Stadium will be transformed in to a state of the art 85,000 seat Olympic Stadium complete with high-tech, yet comfortable, facilities for athletes, officials and spectators alike. The stadium’s massive concourse will be a hub of activity with shops and cafes where spectators can meet up and soak up the Olympic atmosphere. Large and spacious boxes will give superb views of the stadium for sponsors and dignitaries whilst ordinary spectator seats will be comfortable and affordable. Events Opening Ceremony Closing Ceremony Athletics “ The Olympic Stadium will be the hub of Olympic activity. It will be the focal point of the games”

The Parks Leazes Park and Exhibition Park are two large areas of green space right in the heart of Newcastle City Centre. During the games, the two parks will be removed from their usual relaxed state and will be filled with hustle and bustle. Exhibition Park, which back’s out on to the City’s Town Moor, will host the Equestrian events and a 16,000 capacity arena will be built for this purpose. Leazes Park on the other hand will be home to the Shooting and Archery events and two stadiums, holding 7,500 and 9,000 spectators each, will be constructed on a temporary basis for the duration of the games. Events Equestrian Archery Shooting “ Leazes and Exhibition Parks are a haven of green tranquility in the middle of a busy city.”

Aquatics Centre The University of Umberland is a leading centre of excellence in Aquatics and it’s city-centre sports campus is already equipped with a large Aquatics Centre that will be revamped. Shortly before the games, Newcastle City Swimming Club will vacate the premises and the building will be redeveloped to fit the needs of the Olympics. Modern technologies will be installed, the viewing areas enlarged and the Water Polo pools will be totally rebuilt. The main pool will seat around 10,000 spectators whilst the Water Polo pool will seat 3,000 and the synchronised swimming and diving pools (which share the same hall) will accommodate 5,000 fans. Events Swimming Water Polo Diving “ An Olympic regeneration of the Aquatics Centre will leave a lasting legacy for swimming, diving and water polo in Newcastle”

Hosting academic exhibitions, political conferences and folk music events each year, Hancock Hall offers a massive exhibition space in Newcastle city-centre which will be fully utilised for the games. Whilst Eldon Square, located right in the middle of Newcastle’s main shopping centre of the same name, will also be utilised as a reasonably sized public space, capable of staging an important event. Hancock Hall and Eldon Square will play host to the games’ volleyball events with Hancock Hall being fitted out as a 15,000 seat venue for the indoor volleyball event and Eldon Square temporarily becoming a beach to host the Beach Volleyball contest. Events Volleyball (Outdoor & Indoor) Hancock Hall & Eldon Square “ Visitors to Newcastle will normally always find themselves in Eldon Square, to hold an Olympic sport there would give that sport great exposure”

St James’ Park St James’ Park is the home of Newcastle’s beloved football club, Newcastle United. To the city’s inhabitants it is like a Cathedral and this symbolic status, as the home of sport in Newcastle, will be reflected in the fact that it will host the final of the Olympic football tournament. Set adjacent to Leazes Park, the stadium currently seats 53,000 fans but an ongoing redevelopment programme will see it expanded to 59,000. The stadium has its own Metro station and is easily accessible from the city centre. Holding the football final in such a symbolic venue will give Olympic spectators a chance to see just how passionate Geordies are when it comes to sport. Events Football – Final & Heats “ St James’ Park is the home of sport in Newcastle. St James’ Park is Newcastle.”

Lightfoot The Lightfoot Centre is a modern, sports centre in the Newcastle suburb of Walker. For the games, the centre’s large central hall will seat 15,000 spectators across two separate courts. New facilities for athletes and officials will be installed, whilst a temporary spectators gallery will be built to accommodate amenities for those watching the sport. The investment which would be put in to the Lightfoot for the games would benefit the suburb of Walker, known for its poor social status, enormously and would bring a boost to the local economy. The basketball finals would be held in the Newcastle Telewest Arena, the home of Newcastle Eagles basketball team, which can seat 11,000 spectators. Events Basketball (Heats) “ A massive programme will renew the Lightfoot and change it from a sports venue in need of repair to one of Olympic standard”

David Lloyd’s David Lloyd is one of the most remembered tennis players in Thomassian history. Now in his twilight years, he has brought tennis to the masses with his empire of tennis clubs that includes the prestigious Wimbledon club in St Thomas City. The original David Lloyd Club, a twelve-court club set in leafy suburbs, which includes Number 1 court which seats 13,000 when at full capacity. David Lloyd’s will host all of the games’ tennis events. Extra spectator facilities will be added for the games and the venue will be tweaked and refined to raise it to Olympic standard. Events Tennis “ When people think of tennis in St Thomas they think of David Lloyd. When people think of David Lloyd, they think of his tennis club.”

River Tyne When people think of Tyneside, the River Tyne itself, and the many bridges that span it, often come to mind. The river is what links the two main settlements over which the Newcastle bid spans; Newcastle itself and the nearby town of Gateshead. The two towns sit on opposite each other with the Waters of Tyne running between them. This uniting feature would be a key part of the games. As well as spectator seating being installed along its banks, the Tyne would be the centre of the games’ cultural aspect. Throughout the weeks of the event, the River and its Quayside would host a variety of cultural activities including music. It would be an area of intense carnival activity and would be accessible to all. Events Rowing Canoe and Kayak (Flat) “ With millions of pounds of recent investment, spectators can absorb the new culture that exists on the Quayside whilst watching the rowing”

Whickham Thorns Whickham Thorns is an outdoor pursuits centre located in the heights of the Tyne Valley, ten miles from Newcastle. Home to an existing slalom canoe course and a mountain biking course, both of these would be renovated to improve their standard prior to the games. A 13,000 grandstand would be constructed along the slalom course whilst around 4,000 spectators will be able to view the Mountain Biking by standing along the course. Whickham Thorns is easily accessible by car and special bus services will be provided from Newcastle to the venue for the duration of the games. Events Mountain Biking Canoe and Kayak (Slalom) “ Existing facilities in the surrounding area will be exploited to the maximum effect.”

The Olympic Park Built on land disused land that was formerly home to shipyards, the Olympic Park will, naturally, be a central hub of the games. Despite not housing the Olympic Stadium, the Park will house the Velopark, the athletes village and numerous indoor venues to host various events. The Park will span both banks of the river and will include green spaces, open plazas, a press centre and offices. Connected to Newcastle via a special travel centre which includes a bus terminus and a large metro station with the two banks of the river being connected by a bridge, the design for which is yet to be chosen.

Riverside Arena As part of organiser’s efforts to make a Newcastle Games more inclusive and attract a wider audience, the Thomassian Olympic Association would seek to make Rugby Sevens an Olympic sport. To host a Rugby Sevens tournament, the Riverside Arena would be constructed. Set beside the River Tyne, adjacent to the Athlete's Village; it will be the largest and most imposing building in the Olympic Park. Able to seat 75,000 spectators, the stadium will have a retractable use allowing it to be used as an indoor convention centre as well as a sports arena. Events Rugby Sevens “ The Riverside will be a long-term investment in sport for the local area.”

Velopark The Velopark is located in the north-west area of the Olympic Park and will host all of the games’ indoor cycling events. The Velopark will consist of a velodrome able to seat 8,000 spectators and a temporary BMX track able to seat 5,000 spectators. It is intended that the building will be as eco-friendly as possible. Sustainable resources will be used to construct whilst energy conserving techniques and carbon reduction methods will be in use throughout the building. Events Track Cycling BMX “ The Velopark will be a magnificence in design which embodies the spirit of cycling.”

Indoor Arenas To house the raft of indoor sports that are played at an Olympics, the Newcastle Bid proposes building three dedicated indoor arenas located in the north-west of the Olympic Park. Named the Warrior, Harmony and Shell arenas, they will each house various amounts of spectators, the number fluctuating depending on the event. Amongst the sports that will be played in the arenas are boxing, fencing and badminton. Events Warrior Arena: Boxing Wrestling Judo Teakwood Harmony Arena: Fencing Weightlifting Shell Arena: Badminton Table Tennis

Other Park Venues There will be two other sporting venues within the Olympic Park, each of them temporary and each dedicated to a specific sport. The Hockey Arena is the only venue on the south bank of the river and will host all of the games’ hockey events. It will consist of a 20,000 seat main pitch with a 5,00 seat secondary pitch which will ensure that smaller games still have an excellent atmosphere. The second venue is the Olympic Handball Centre, located close to the indoor arenas, it will be able to seat 10,000 spectators. Events Hockey Handball

Athlete’s Facilities Within the Olympic Park will be located the Athlete’s Village, home to accommodation for all of the games’ athletes as well as shops, cafés, restaurants and even the odd bar, the village will keep athlete’s occupied throughout their stay. Nearby is the Athlete’s Park, a tranquil haven where athletes can sit back and relax after a day of competition or meet up with colleagues to have a chat. Another facility dedicated to athlete’s is the Athlete’s Travel Centre. The Travel Centre offers Metro links to all major venues, with athlete-dedicated trains fitted out to give athlete’s a little extra comfort. The centre is also the place for athlete’s to catch road transport to venues not accessible by Metro or if their team prefers them to use a car instead. “ A Newcastle games would offer unparalleled facilities for athletes. The highest standards in comfort, style and efficiency would be maintained throughout.”

Transport When picking venues for the games, one of the things the Bid Committee took in to consideration was their accessibility via public transport. We are pleased to say that of the seventeen separate venues in use for the games, fourteen of those are, or will be accessible via Newcastle’s urban railway system, the Metro. The metro already links Newcastle City Centre to an existing station at what will be the Olympic Stadium, and extensions to the metro line will be completed to link up the stadium, the city centre and other venues together. Newcastle’s existing fantastic transport infrastructure will be greatly enhanced and built upon so spectators can travel from place to place in the easiest way.

Extending the Metro In order to link up the games’ various venues, an expansion of Newcastle’s Metro system will be undertaken. The network, which has a daily ridership of around 400,000 people, will gain a new line, the Olympic Line. It will be comprised of both a new line extension to link up the Olympic Park Transport Centre and the Lightfoot Centre to Newcastle City Centre, and existing line that already links Newcastle to Gateshead stadium. A map of the proposed new line is shown below. In addition to the new line, new rolling stock will be brought on the Metro for the games. These specially designed carriages would be configured to ensure that as many passengers as possible can use the Metro at busy times.

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What the new Newcastle Airport will look like…

The Bus Network Whilst all but one of the venues that lie in the Newcastle Urban Area will be accessible by Metro, not all spectators will want to use this mode of transport to get around. As such, organisers would ensure that the Newcastle bus network is reliable and efficient. Special dedicated bus routes, operated by eco-friendly vehicles, will be created to service key locations for the games. David Lloyd’s, which will not be connected to the Metro network, will be served by it’s own dedicated route, the Tennis Route which will connect tennis spectators to Newcastle City Centre and will run regularly. No-Car Newcastle For the last two years, at the initiative of Newcastle’s City Council, Wednesday is a no-car day in Newcastle. This is part of a wider “green” imitative that is ongoing in the city and is aimed at reducing congestion and CO2 emissions in order to create a cleaner environment. For the duration of the games, Newcastle City Centre will be a no-car zone. Drivers will not be able to drive their cars within a two-mile radius of the city centre and will instead have to park them in specially constructed parking areas. This will mean that Newcastle will be a pedestrian-only city allowing spectators to move around freely soaking up the atmosphere.

A safe and secure environment…

Security The Security of everybody attending the games would be of utmost importance to the organisers. For the games to work, everyone must feel safe and secure and we would hope to ensure that this happened at a Newcastle games. In order for this to occur, for the duration of the games, Newcastle and the surrounding area would become a special police zone under the command of a senior police officer with training to deal with large-scale events such as this. The special police zone would be policed by officers, not just from the local Northumberland Force but also officers who have been placed on secondment from other forces and personnel employed with the National Police Force. Together, these police officers would fulfil our goal of a trouble-free games.

The threat of terrorism As most people will be aware, St Thomas continues to be under threat from terrorist attack by separatists, seeking the independence of the Province of Kye. This posses a security threat, not only to the average Thomassian citizen, but also to anybody visiting St Thomas, including those athletes, officials and spectators who would come to Newcastle for the 2008 games. In order to ensure that their safety is guaranteed, comprehensive anti-terrorist operations would be ongoing throughout the games, but would at the same time not interfere with the games themselves. Extra support from personnel in the Thomassian Armed Forces, including those with experience in counter-terrorism, would be given to police in order to make sure terrorists do not strike when the games are ongoing. The Newcastle Bid Committee wishes to assure the EOC that security if our paramount concern, we would not allow a Newcastle Games to go ahead without guaranteeing that everybody attending the games did not have the threat of attack from terrorists hanging over them. High-level cooperation between games organisers, the government and police would ensure that this is the case.

Thomassian Olympic Association The Thomassian Olympic Association, as the National Olympic Committee for St Thomas, would like to make it known that it fully supports the bid presented to the European Olympic Committee by the Newcastle 2008 Bid Team. We recognise that the bid is of a high quality and, from our experience of Europe-wide sporting events, we can assure the EOC that we believe that a vote for Newcastle would be a positive one that would see a well-organised games which is well-supported locally and nationally. A Newcastle 2008 Games has all the necessary elements to make it a truly memorable games. We hope that the EOC will share our positive views in regards to the Newcastle bid and look forward to meeting with representatives of the various NOCs at the next Olympic Congress. Yours Sincerely HRH The Prince of St James – President of the TOA Sir James Hedley – Chairman of the TOA Rt Hon The Lord Melloross - Vice-Chairman of the TOA Roger Dailey – Vice-Chairman of the TOA Sir Hinik Seymour – TOA Representative to the EOC

City of Newcastle upon Tyne The City Council of Newcastle upon Tyne, having affirmed this stance by resolution on the fourth day of this month, wishes confirm that it fully supports the bid presented to the European Olympic Committee by the Newcastle 2008 Bid Committee. As the body responsible for the governance of the City of Newcastle, we can assure the European Olympic Committee that we are fully in support of the Games of the Second Olympiad coming to Newcastle and we would make all necessary arrangements for such an eventuality to happen. We have been working in partnership with our neighbouring local authorities in Gateshead and North Tyneside to ensure that the bid process has as much local backing as possible both from officials and from amongst the local populace. We can quite safely assure the EOC that, from our extensive ground research, we believe that the games is well supported amongst the residents of Newcastle and the surrounding areas and we believe this is imperative to the success of any games. Once again we affirm our support for the Newcastle City Bid, Yours Sincerely The Councillors, Aldermen, Freemen and Associates of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne

To the European Olympic Committee, On behalf of His Majesty’s Government and the Thomassian people may we begin by expressing our delight that the EOC has once again reformed itself in to a new set up and is once again in a position to organise the marvellous spectacle that is the Olympic Games. We in St Thomas eagerly await next year’s Summer and Winter Games which are not simply sporting competitions, but celebrations of the glory of sport and all of its splendour. Together with the Thomassian Olympic Committee, Newcastle City Council and our partner organisations, His Majesty’s Government is firmly committed to supporting the Newcastle bid for the 2008 Summer Games and has been directly involved in the planning and preparation for the bid you see before you today. We believe that not only would a Newcastle 2008 Games bring enormous benefits to the Newcastle/Tyneside area, but would also greatly enrich the sporting culture of a nation that is already so passionate about sport. Should the Newcastle 2008 Bid be successful, we would continue to support the games for as long as is needed, including post-2008 aiding with legacy work and clear up. To coordinate our role we would appoint a Minister for the Olympics who, as a member of Letter continues overleaf

His Majesty’s Government would be directly responsible to the Thomassian Parliament for ensuring that His Majesty’s Government would fulfil the pledges it had made. The Minister, working with other figures within His Majesty’s Government, would supervise the work of the organising committee, coordinate government response and wherever possible lend a helping hand to the organisers. His Majesty’s Government wants this games to work and we believe the steps we would take to ensure this are what is needed to make it work. We hope that the EOC will give due consideration to the Newcastle Bid, which we believe is an excellent one. Yours Sincerely; Oliver Richards, His Grace the Duke of St Thomas Prime Minister of St Thomas Rt Hon Dame Maureen Murphy MP Deputy Prime Minister & First Secretary of State Rt Hon Sir Richard Faraday MP Secretary of State for Finance & Chief Secretary of HM Treasury Rt Hon The Lord Hubbard Secretary of State for National Heritage Rt Hon Nicholas Wake MP Minister for Sport

A games to inspire a whole generation in Newcastle

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