The initiative by the worldwide Olympic sponsor will include a road show which will see the "nearest and dearest" of athletes given the opportunity to take part in two-hour sessions giving them advice on how best to support their loved one during competition.

There will also be an athlete's lounge at the Olympic Games and each Olympian will be given two free tickets for their first event, with every Paralympian having four tickets for the opening stage of their competitions.

Nathan Homer, P&G's Olympic project director, told insidethegames that the programme will teach friends and family "how to be a great support for their athletes, and in the year of the Games give them all the information they can get.

"We are actually delivering an improvement to the performance of Team GB, so it's a fantastic win win story, as you find a great story for your campaign, but we are very clear that we will help with the performance."

Tim Hollingsworth, head of Paralympics GB, said that "the nearest and dearest programme is designed to make sure that everyone gets involved, we will invite them to session across the country," echoing the sentiments of Team GB Chef de Mission and BOA chief executive Andy Hunt, who said that "we want every athlete to be competing at their very best."

At the launch of the initiative, world 10k open water champion Keri-Anne Payne (pictured below), the first GB athlete to book her place at London 2012, explained to insidethegames that the programme would take a weight off her shoulders.

"We are a very close family so I always worry about where [my parents are], making sure they are in the right place so it's great that there are experts who can tell them where to go.

"It's a huge weight taken off, I definitely wouldn't be here without my mum and dad so they definitely get first dibs on the tickets."


Europe's number one T35 100 metres sprinter Sophia Warner told insidethegames: "I've got my parents but also two children so I have pressure mounting from both sides.

"The tickets are one thing but the athlete's lounge is amazing, I'll get to see my children whilst competing."

"People who come to see you don't understand the pressure you are under on the day, and I don't know the logistics or where to park - I don't need to know."

Homer explained at the launch, which was attended by 1988 Olympic 110m hurdles silver medallist Colin Jackson (pictured with Warner and Payne) that the "nearest and dearest" campaign would take care of such worries in the build up to and during the Games.


"There are the logistical basics of how to get there, where the entry points are, is there a meeting place, what's the best tube line?" he said.

"There will be someone from the Nearest and Dearest programme at all the Olympic venues so I can foresee that sometime during Games time I will be going into venues or the park and finding nearest and dearest who are lost or want to know where they can their ticket from.

"[The programme is designed to] enable them to be great support for their athletes, and in the year of the Games give the nearest and dearest all the information they can get.

"In most cases the athlete knows less than anyone because they usually just have to turn up at a certain place and are taken to the venue."

"They're asking the person who knows least but is most bothered."

P&G will be launching a website in the coming weeks, which will give athletes' friends and family an online resource to help them plan their time during the Games next year, and the road show will begin later this month, taking place in 13 locations across the UK.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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