A New Channel for Dover

Building work has begun on Kent’s first ever Olympic Live Site which is being erected in Dover’s Market Square.

Dover will be the first Live Site chosen by London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) that is not a city.     

The Live Site, effectively a big screen, presents an amazing opportunity for the community to use; whether for information or to stage local events around the Live Site, as well as to broadcast national events and the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012. At other Live Sites dotted around the UK, communities have come together to watch a range of cultural, sporting and Olympic related events.   

The screen was secured for Kent by the County Council’s Sport, Leisure and Olympics Service working with LOCOG. Its planning for Dover included a wide range of partners working together, including Dover District Council, East Kent Primary Care Trust and Dover Pride. The BBC will manage the screen and content along with a programming board consisting of local partners. 

A range of partners continues to work together for a world-class future for the district.  This includes the Kent Campaign for the 2012 Games, a partnership led and managed by Kent County Council that seeks to deliver legacies and opportunities for the county from the London 2012 Games.

Cllr Paul Watkins, Leader of Dover District Council said: “We are now adding a new dimension to Dover’s cultural offer and this will provide an important asset for our communities, for the town and for the area.  The screen represents a physical legacy from the 2012 Games, and provides another key element in the partnership working that is reshaping Dover District for a very positive future.”

Mike Hill, Cabinet Member for Communities at Kent County Council said: “The Live Site in Dover will really put the town and county on the national map as an enthusiastic supporter of the London 2012 celebrations. This is an exciting development in helping local residents get into the Olympic spirit.”

It is expected that the screen will be in place by late May 09 ready for an official ‘switch on’ in late summer 09.

For more information on the Live Site in Dover please contact Gillian Gayton at Gillian.Gayton@dover.gov.uk