Community Engagement and the Olympics

Abstract

I vividly recall, as a child, the thrill when our ‘local hero’, the athlete Steve Ovett, visited my primary school and allowed each one of us to hold his Olympic 800m Gold Medal. The next time I felt that same visceral engagement from touching a historically significant object was probably on my first day working in an archive service. Therefore, I was delighted when, in my capacity as Convenor of the Archives & Records Association’s Public Services Quality Group Sub-committee on Volunteering, I was given the opportunity by the Editorial Board to act as guest editor for this themed edition on ‘Community Engagement and the Olympic and Paralympic Games’. Although for me there is an irony in that it has been Steve Ovett’s arch track rival, Sebastian (now Lord) Coe, who has masterminded London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and overseen its delivery, thus allowing me this opportunity. At this point in time we do not know whether this summer’s upcoming sporting spectacular will be considered a success or not—it is still very much a work in progress. The same is true of some of the projects and initiatives highlighted by contributors to this edition. Indeed the role of archives in community engagement, and the ability of archive services to successfully involve communities is, in itself, a continuing work in progress. As Victor Gray asserted in 2002, reflecting back on the past achievements of the sector and looking to the future, ‘For the rising generation, the primary challenge is going to be that of demonstrating that this has all been worthwhile, a challenge that will be met by forceful advocacy, by practical demonstration of what archives can mean and do for society, and above all, in my view, by forging relationships with professional partners, with wider social agencies, with the media, and through all these, with society at large’. Ten years on from the Society of Archivists’ conference where he set out this vision, the articles in this edition could be seen as an indicator of how well this generation is stepping up to that challenge. Whilst we await judgement on the achievements of the Games, what we do know is what made London’s bid, to host the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012, successful. In much part, this was because it emphasized that legacy was key to the aims, planning and delivery of the project. Not just through a sustainable Olympic Park