London 2012 final sale and auction - update

The two day sale at the City of Coventry Stadium saw thousands of items that were used during the Games and official London 2012 merchandise available to buy.

In the first hour alone, which was exclusively for Games volunteers, 1500 people came through the doors to take their opportunity to own a piece of London 2012. 

Some of the most popular items proved to be the duvets from the Olympic/Paralympic Village, costumes from the four ceremonies and venue banners.

Director of Paralympic Integration, Chris Holmes, who was at the sale on Saturday, said: “We were blown away with the fantastic response that we got to this event, especially from the volunteers, with many of them coming in their uniforms. This has shown that the enthusiasm created by London 2012 is still strong and has left a lasting legacy for the volunteer sector.”

The highlight of the weekend was the exclusive auction of Games and memorabilia items, which saw 300 people taking part either at the event or online. There were over 100 lots which included:

• The scarecrow from the Olympic Opening Ceremony sold for £2,020
• An Olympic Torch, signed by Ben Ainslie, sold for £2000
• A Royal Mail stamp, signed by Mo Farah, sold for £860
• A javelin, signed by Jessica Ennis, sold for £660
• A set of lane markers, used during the Paralympic athletics, sold for £500
• A pair of Tom Daley’s swimming trunks being sold for £540

Many of the volunteers who attended took the opportunity to sign up with Join In, which is an independent charitable trust set up to maximise the volunteering opportunities created by London 2012.  

Join In 2013 will run from 27 July until 9 September 2013 with sports clubs invited to host fun, community-focused events.  As the new home of the London 2012 volunteers and Games Makers, Join In will become a matchmaker between grassroots clubs and potential volunteers via its website (www.joininuk.org).






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Notes to editors:  
For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com. 

London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.
LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield. 
There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery.