Community Games was created to give everyone up and down the country the chance to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Inspired by the Games, Community Games was Legacy Trust UK’s idea, to encourage communities to come together and take part in sports and arts activities, and started as a programme in the West Midlands back in 2010.

Community Games offer something for everyone. You don’t need to be sporty to take part – they are just as much about celebrating cultural achievement as sporting endeavour.

Pierre de Coubertin’s vision for the modern Olympic movement, as inspired by William Penny Brookes’ Wenlock Olympian Games, in Shropshire, was as a marriage of sport and the arts, and we hope that your Community Games will embody this spirit.

We are thrilled that Community Games is now recognised as a programme contributing to the Legacy from London 2012 and are grateful to Legacy Trust UK for their support of this programme and to the Cabinet Office for their £3 million of Big Society funding.

The Community Games programme provides toolkits, e-learning, workshops, resources and support for organisers, giving you the information and skills that you need to organise your own Community Games. We look forward to working with hundreds of communities across the country again this year.

David Moorcroft OBE, Olympian and Community Games Ambassador