INFORMATION FOR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
JOURNALISTS : OLYMPIC COMMITTEES : SPORTS TEAMS : STUDENTS :BUSINESSES : LEISURE VISITORS :JOURNALISTS:
London and the South East will receive unprecedented media attention in the build up to 2012. The Kent Campaign for the 2012 Games is therefore currently exploring how the County of Kent can best meet the needs of international journalists, in the run up to 2012, as well as over the six week period of the Games themselves. 2012 and its build up are a fantastic opportunity to show case Kent 's offer, across tourism and the arts, regeneration and inward investment, and our position as gateway to Europe and to the UK.
We want to work closely with both accredited media and unaccredited media, and have made this one of the priorities within our Kent Strategy for the 2012 Games
"We will design and deliver individually targeted Kent 'press packs' for accredited and non-accredited media, including appropriate, proactive and attractive written and visual materials about the county, tailored tours of key infrastructure, and ease of access to Kent leaders and Kent communities across all sectors"
NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES AND PARARALYMPIC COMMITTESS :
Kent has identified over 120 possible venues that could host Pre Games Training camps for the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games. Please follow this link to find out more detail on Kent's offer.
We would welcome international teams who would be interested in visiting the county in the years leading up to 2012, to sample some of our sporting facilities (and our associated warm welcome, tourism and cultural offer, and to explore our superb connectivity with London, and the Olympic Park itself (It will take less than ten minutes to travel by train from Ebbsfleet in north Kent, to the heart of the Olympic Park in London)
INTERNATIONAL SPORTS TEAMS ACROSS ALL SPORTS (NOT JUST THOSE IN A SUMMER OLYMPIC/PARALYMPIC GAMES!) :
As a county we have hosted in recent months international sports teams across various disciplines from the United States, Canada, Romania, Estonia, the Netherlands, and very shortly, Australia, and we would warmly welcome any further international enquiries, to info@kentsport.org, or by telephoning +44 1622 605 051.
Kent is also keen to attract major sports events to the county, and is keen to work with international sports federations to facilitate this. We have already had some notable successes in this ambition, notably the Tour de France, World Series Hand Crank Cycling and World Cup Archery event, all of which will be hosted summer 2007, and the National Visually Impaired Judo Championships, which will take place November 2007. Again, please contact us on info@kentsport.org, or by telephoning +44 1622 605 051.
STUDENTS :
With
the University of Kent at Canterbury 'The UK's European University', Canterbury
Christ Church University, University College of Creative Arts, and the
Universities at Medway, Kent has a learning environment for everyone,
with a range of further education colleges also situated around the county.
All the universities and colleges provide a supportive yet challenging
academic environment, situated within the hustle and bustle, and the tranquility,
of the county of Kent. With daily life that bit less expensive than London,
but with readily accessible and affordable access to London and to the
continent, Kent is a great place for any international student to be based.
Within the Kent Campaign for the 2012 Games, we are exploring how our
international students may wish to be involved in bringing the 2012 Olympics
and Paralympics into the heart of Kent students' communities, and into
the heart of Kent, and more detail on this will be published on this website
in due course.
BUSINESS :
Kent is perfectly placed for your business, only an hour's drive from London and 35 minutes from mainland Europe. With property costs up to 60% less than in London and with huge regeneration plans across Kent and Medway, the area offers companies an unrivalled business location.
Locate in Kent is a home grown agency passionate about sharing the benefits of Kent with businesses. The company's free, confidential relocation services include supplying information about potential sites and properties in Kent and Medway, undertaking location-specific research and providing local knowledge.
Locate in Kent has already helped nearly 400 companies move to or expand in the county and has created nearly 18,000 new jobs. For more details please visit www.locateinkent.com
INTERNATIONAL LEISURE VISITORS :
Kent has everything a potential visitor to the Games might want; proximity to the Olympic Park and surrounding competition venues and therefore fast transport connections to the Olympic Park and surrounding venues; but also a range of high quality and affordable accommodation for all visitors' needs; the opportunity to enjoy the Garden of England, and experience our coasts, our three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and over 360 miles of unspoilt coastline including the world famous White Cliffs of Dover.
We have a wealth of cinemas, theatres, golf courses, art galleries, restaurants, bars and traditional English pubs, and theatres, such as The Marlowe in Canterbury, often stage West End productions. The dramatic new Turner Contemporary Gallery in Margate opens in 2009. Kent’s restaurants, pubs and bars are among Britain’s best for food and offer a range of experiences from vibrant to tranquil, traditional to contemporary. Sporting activities include dry slope skiing and snowboarding, rock climbing and golf. The county’s 67 courses include the famous Royal St. George’s at Sandwich, host of 12 Open competitions.
For shopaholics, Kent is a fantastic place for shopping, owing to the county hosting one of Europe’s largest malls (Bluewater) as well as countless antique and specialist shops. Kent is also home to a couple of designer outlets where you can get premium names for discounted prices. Elegant Royal Tunbridge Wells is the place to visit for antiques, arts and crafts, and you will also find independent designer, contemporary and specialist shops in many of Kent’s other towns and villages.
You will also find plenty of history in Kent, side by side with our more contemporary attractions such as the Millennium Park in Maidstone. Throughout history, many Kings and Queens of England chose to live in Kent, leaving the area with some of the country’s finest stately homes and castles for visitors to admire and enjoy.
Our "Garden of England" reputation has come about owing to our naturally beautiful countryside as well as a wonderfully varied coast. Many public footpaths mean you can enjoy rolling green hills, meadows of wildflowers, charming woodland, sandy beaches and pebbly coves by foot, bicycle or on horseback. Driving around Kent’s country roads through its many traditional English villages is an equally relaxing experience, enjoying fresh air and inspiring views all over Kent.
Getting to Kent is easy.. and from Kent, getting to London is really easy.....
With two airports accepting international and domestic passengers and freight, and a number of freight and passenger ports (with one of these, Dover, experiencing over 15 million passengers and 1.8 million freight vehicles each year - making it Europe’s busiest port), Kent really is Europe’s gateway to England, and to London.
From 2009, fast new trains will whisk international and domestic visitors into the heart of London in under 15 minutes from the International Station at Ebbsfleet, and in less then 37 minutes from Ashford International. For the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (27 July - 9 September 2012), visitors basing themselves in Kent will be able to access the heart of the Olympic Village in just under 10 minutes from Ebbsfleet International Station (north Kent).
Also being investigated are water taxis to take visitors based in Kent straight to the Olympic Village, creating a unique Olympic tourists’ experience of London as viewed from its famous river, The Thames.
For more detail on Kent's offer, please do visit www.visitkent.co.uk