Speaking at the Legacy Lives 2010 conference in East London, Mills said that there was a complete determination to uphold the pledge made before the crucial vote by Sebastian Coe “to reach young people all around the world and connect them with the inspirational power of the Games, so that they are inspired to choose sport”.

He explained: “We thought it was a great idea, but who was going to pay for it?

"LOCOG didn’t have the money.

"Not the IOC either, which had its own programmes already.

"So we wondered, how are we going to deliver it.”

Five years on, Mills is chair of the means by which that vision is being delivered - the International inspiration Foundation, which has so far managed to engage with three and a half million children in 18 developing countries - taking it a good way towards the original target of 12 million children in 20 countries.

“When we spoke to IOC members before the vote in Singapore we got the impression that the Olympic Movement had progressively lost touch with young people.

IOC members were most worried about whether we could re-engage with young people.

"When we started talking to them about the next generation, it really rang all the right bells.”

Mills explained that the Foundation, which works in partnership with many agencies including UK Sport, spent six months researching what resources would be of most use to young people in their respective countries.

He added that contact was made first with the country’s policymakers to ensure the programme would have longevity.

In Bangladesh, for example, the fact that 17,000 children a year die as a result of flooding prompted the Ii Foundation to teach 190,000 children to swim, with special emphasis on swimming to survive. In India, the focus has been on conflict resolution, with internationally displaced youngsters becoming involved in the community through sport.

“This is a great example of how you take one iconic event and use it for social good, use it in a way that will last long beyond the event itself,” said Mills, who added that half of the expected cost of the project, £48 million, had already been raised.

“This is one of the strongest soft legacies that you will see in any Olympics in history,” he added.

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