Olympic medallist Roger Black has hailed the 2012 Olympics as a golden opportunity for the people of the West Midlands.
The former athlete paid a visit to the city to help launch a plan for the region’s involvement in the London Games and kickstart a weekend of Olympic-themed fun.
Today marks three years to the start of the 2012 games.
Former 400m runner Black, who won silver in Atlanta in 1996, said the games would have a positive effect on the area’s cultural community and bring business to the Midlands.
“Everyone can in some way experience the Olympic Games,” he said.
“Not everyone is going to have a ticket to actually watch the games, but there will be cultural events up here because it is a cultural Olympics as well as a sporting Olympics.”
Birmingham has already persuaded the US track and field team to base their pre-games preparations in the city and hope to tempt others, including China and Jamaica.
Over the weekend, thousands of people in Birmingham took part in more than 53 arts, cultural, sport and environmental projects, to mark the countdown to the games.
They included a family fun day in Handsworth Park and events at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in Victoria Square.
