London 2012 Olympics 'hour' volunteers scheme scrapped

A scheme to use the Olympic Games to encourage people to volunteer in their local communities has been abandoned.

The 25th Hour campaign was launched at the Olympic Park last March by the then Olympics minister Tessa Jowell and London 2012 chairman Lord Coe.

Volunteers were to receive one of 2,012 pairs of tickets for the Olympic opening ceremony's dress rehearsal.

The 25th Hour campaign was based on the idea that everyone could find an extra hour or more to make a difference.

Sports projects

The tickets were to have been among a range of Olympic-themed awards for "exceptional time-givers".

The government is now hoping that the Places People Play scheme will lead to grassroots projects and events.

A Culture Department spokesman said: "After careful consideration, the government has decided not to continue the 25th Hour Programme.

"Instead, the focus going forward will be on getting more people involved in sport as volunteers and coaches, through the Places People Play initiative."

He said the new Sports Leaders Scheme aims to recruit, train and deploy 40,000 new volunteers to help organise sports activities in their communities.

The 25th Hour campaign was separate to London 2012's volunteer programme which this week began interviews to recruit 70,000 people to help the Games run smoothly.