Seventeen people who have contributed to the Big Society agenda were given tickets to the Olympics opening ceremony by David Cameron.
The Prime Minister was given the tickets by Locog, the Games organising committee, to distribute. Many receipients were volunteers, including six graduates of last year’s National Citizen’s Service (NCS) programme, two Big Society Awards winners and individuals who helped in the aftermath of last summer’s riots.
The chief executives of NCS provider organisations, including Craig Morely from the Challenge Network and Elaine Lilley from Lincolnshire and Rutland EBP were also included on the list.
An audience of 60,000 watched the opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford and 27 million watched on television.
The 17 Big Society participants invited by Cameron were:
- Dan Thompson, from Worthing, West Sussex, who helped organise the riot clean-up operation
- Sam Odusina, from Hackney, east London, recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Gold Award
- Ahmed Kabba, a community organiser from Peckham, south London
- Stephen Greene, a Big Society Award winner and chief executive of Rockcorps, which uses music concerts to engage young people in volunteering
- Melanie Bryan, a Big Society Award winner who was awarded an OBE for services to social enterprise and women’s enterprise
- Kay Horne, a Sainsbury’s-sponsored “business connector” in Tottenham, north London
- Karen Edwards, chief executive of Bolton Lads and Girls Club, and winner of Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
- Craig Morley, chief executive of youth charity The Challenge Network
- Alice Parker, an NCS graduate from Blackheath, south London
- Mayowa Quadri, an NCS graduate from Bermondsey, south London;
- Emma Bethell-Clarke, an NCS graduate from Bolton Lads and Girls Club, selected to be an NCS leader in the 2012 programme
- Melissa Poole, an NCS graduate from Lincolnshire and Rutland
- Ayesha Taylor-Camera, an NCS ambassador
- Brett Gilligan, from Runcorn, Cheshire, an NCS graduate ambassador who has worked in Uganda on the International Citizen Service programme
- Peter Westgarth, chief executive of Duke of Edinburgh Awards
- Darren England, NCS project coordinator for the Football League Trust
- Elaine Lilley, chief executive of NCS provider Lincolnshire and Rutland EBP
