The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will join their fellow Team GB Ambassadors as special guests of the British Olympic Association at Our Greatest Team Rises, a gala celebration of Team GB and ParalympicsGB on 11th May at the Royal Albert Hall in Central London.
The Duke and Duchess will join Team GB legends such as Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Kelly Holmes and Denise Lewis OBE in encouraging fans throughout the United Kingdom to unite in showing their support for the athletes who are preparing to represent Team GB and ParalympicsGB at the London 2012 Games. Collectively, Team GB and ParalympicsGB will include approximately 900 athletes – and with the enthusiastic support of 60 million fans throughout the United Kingdom, British athletes will be well-placed to reach unprecedented heights of success at home in London 2012.
Thus far, 67 athletes across five sports have been selected for Team GB which, in final form, is expected to include 550 athletes across all 26 Olympic sports. For ParalymipcsGB, 101 athletes have been selected thus far, with the final team expected to include approximately 300 athletes.
Coming just one day after the Olympic flame is lit in Olympia, Greece, and in the final stages of the countdown to the London 2012 Games, Our Greatest Team Rises will serve as a clarion call to the nation to demonstrate its support for Team GB and ParalympicGB. In addition, the event will help raise critical funds to provide the final layer of support for Our Greatest Team at the London 2012 Games.
The star-studded lineup of entertainers who are performing at Our Greatest Team Rises includes Take That star Gary Barlow; multi-platinum selling artist Will Young; singing sensation Alfie Boe; Spice Girl Melanie C; internationally renowned violinist Charlie Siem; X Factor and Radio 2 presenter Dermot O’Leary; and Britain’s Got Talent winners Spelbound. Hosts for the evening are British stars Davina McCall and John Bishop, and a special menu is being designed by Michelin-starred chef Simon Hulstone.
TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and HRH Prince Harry, were formally announced as Official Team GB and Paralympics GB 2012 Ambassadors on 1st December 2011. As Team GB and Paralympics GB Ambassadors, they are lending their support and encouragement to the athletes who are pursuing their dreams of competing at London 2012 and beyond and encouraging fans throughout the United Kingdom to do the same.
Last month, on 15th March, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge made a special visit to a training session for the Team GB women’s and men’s hockey teams at the official Olympic competition venue.
An area of particular interest for TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is the Team GB Ambition Programme, which will provide around 200 athletes and coaches who aspire to represent Team GB at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and Rio 2016 Olympic Games with a first-hand experience of the Olympic Games environment during London 2012.
Team GB Chef de Mission Andy Hunt:
“Team GB Ambassadors have led the way in encouraging fans throughout the United Kingdom to show their support for our nation’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and to have TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joining their fellow Ambassadors for Our Greatest Team Rises will help build a wave of support that will make a critical difference for our athletes.”