A Festival of Olympic Sports took place at the Liverpool Echo Arena on Sunday 22 January, in attendance were Olympic bronze medallists Steve Smith (High Jump) and Steve Parry (Swimming) joining World Gymnastics Champion Beth Tweddle, Senior British Gymnastics Champion Hannah Whelan, EU Championship Gold medallist boxer Natasha Jonas and table tennis player Mark Palmer who competed in the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.

The day was packed full with NGB stands, taster sessions and demonstrations which gave people of all ages the chance to try out over twenty Olympic and Paralympics sports including: Judo, Volleyball, Fencing, Table Tennis and handball with a view to getting people motivated and excited about the Olympics.

A special opening ceremony at 11am kicked off the celebrations, a captive audience of over 4000 people filled the Arena and this was made up of local schoolchildren’s choirs, parents and teachers. The event though really exploded when the doors opened to the general public from 12 noon. In addition to the NGB stands, ‘have a go’ taster sessions and demonstrations began in earnest. exhibitors on hand on the NGB stands helped with any questions about a range of activities and to give people the opportunity to take up a sport or join a club offering their chosen sport.

British Judo's stand had the prime spot and this was emphasised when the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Frank Prendergast chose the spot to make his opening address from. Event organiser Liz Lamb was glowing in her praise of Judo’s contribution especially has she had only managed to give two weeks notice ahead of the event due to an administrative mix-up.

Judo was soundly represented throughout the day by Anfield Youth and Community Judo Club (AYAC JC) supported by BJA NW Area field based staff Dave Duffy and Kerry Finney. Christine Anderson and colleagues from AYAC Judo Club manned the information desk on the British Judo stand whilst the practical Judo sessions had a prime spot on the main Arena floor led by Kerry Finney with Dave Duffy giving a running commentary on the microphone so that the uninitiated could understand the ethos behind the activities.

Two 25 minute demonstrations were held with the second one being opened up to include a ‘come and try’ experience for the full session – over 40 children took advantage of this and throughout the day hundreds asked for and were provided with details of their local club. There was also a chance for visitors to meet the city’s past and present athletes and get top tips from them on how to stay fit and find out how they became one of the leading stars in their sport.

Liverpool city council’s cabinet member responsible for leisure, Councillor Wendy Simon, said: “This free event gives everyone the chance to celebrate the Olympic Games by showcasing the sports we’re going to see so much of in July and August. It’s a great family day out, with a whole host of different activities visitors can get involved in and find out about how to get fit but have fun at the same time. Liverpool is a city with sport running through its veins and this is a fantastic opportunity to encourage young people to get involved in an activity and hopefully become a future Olympic gold medallist!”