• 10,000 Paralympic tickets up for grabs for Londoners
• The chance to find out what the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has in store for visitors

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the London Legacy Development Corporation have today launched a competition to give 10,000 Londoners the chance to win tickets to the 2012 Paralympic Games.

The A Day in the Park competition will see 10,000 tickets for the Paralympic Games being offered to residents across the 33 boroughs of London. Londoners can win a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to experience the excitement and inspiration of Paralympic sports and to enjoy the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, just by logging on from Friday 22 June, 2012, and answering a simple question at www.adayinthepark.co.uk.

Supporters of the competition, G4S, have provided the funding for the 10,000 tickets at no cost to the taxpayer, allowing thousands more Londoners the chance to be at the heart of the action during the summer.

The Mayor and Development Corporation also want to celebrate those Olympic Host Borough residents who contribute to local life, by offering them exclusive tickets to the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony. These Community Champions will be nominated by local residents through local East London media partners, with the judging .panel made up of local representatives. Roadshows will be taking place across the six Olympic Host Boroughs offering local residents more information about how to enter the competition.

Daniel Moylan, new Chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation, said:

“The future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will belong to Londoners. Now, through A Day in the Park, we can give people a chance to see the world-class Olympic venues and their setting before they are transformed into a great new public park due to open in stages from July 2013.

“Through the roadshows, people will be able to see how the Park will become a vibrant place for everyone to enjoy. Whether you want to take the kids swimming at the weekend, enjoy green, open spaces to walk the dog, or go to a music festival, this will become a Park that people will want to keep visiting and finding new things to enjoy.

“Not only can we offer thousands of local people and community groups the opportunity to experience the thrill of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, but we can also let them see first-hand how we are building an urban park more ambitious in scope and more exciting than any other in the UK.”

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said:

“The Paralympic Games promise to be a spectacular festival of sport and this competition is a fantastic way for thousands of Londoners to experience it and the Park first hand, at no cost to the taxpayer.

“When it reopens after the Games, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will be an unparalleled resource for East London, with thousands of new homes, some of the best sporting venues in the world and new community facilities providing a lasting legacy for generations.”

The future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will combine lush parklands and waterways, new neighbourhoods and world-class sporting and entertainment venues. It will draw on the unique character, energy and heritage of London’s East End and the best elements of London living, to create a brand new piece of the city for residents and visitors.

A Day on the Park competition is open only to London residents and can be entered through local media partners or via the website at www.adayinthepark.co.uk, for the chance to win:

• Pairs of tickets
• Family pack (4,6 or 8 tickets)
• Community groups up to 20 tickets
• Street groups up to 50 tickets

To find out more information or enter the A Day in the Park competition, local residents should visit the A Day in the Park competition homepage: www.adayinthepark.co.uk. There they will be asked to enter answer a simple Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park themed question to be entered into the competition. Winners will be chosen at random after the closing date on Wednesday 18th July.

The A Day in the Park competition will also include a touring interactive roadshow which will visit shopping centres, community hubs and town centres across the Olympic Host Boroughs in East London between Saturday 23rd June and Sunday 15th July (see notes to editors for dates).

Touring through Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest, Barking & Dagenham and Greenwich, the roadshow will provide local residents with information about how to enter the competition as well as offering a unique insight into the future vision of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, including a flythrough. Visitors will have the chance to enter an interactive, CGI photobooth and take away a photo of themselves with the backdrop of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The A Day in the Park competition is supported by the Official Security Services Provider and sponsor of London 2012 G4S. G4S, are responsible for recruiting 10,400 staff along with being tasked to train and manage the entire 23,700 security workforce.

Ian Horseman Sewell, Managing Director of G4S Major Events commented:

“We are delighted to support such an important local initiative that will enable thousands of local people to be part of the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’.

“With 40% of our workforce coming from the six Host Olympic Boroughs, we are thrilled that so many have come forward to be part of Team G4S, to play their part in the Games.

“The eyes of world will be on the east end of London this summer and we are committed in playing our part in ensuring a lasting legacy for the people of the area.”

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will open in phases from July 2013, starting with the North Park and expanding to the whole site by Spring 2014.

Its creation will be one of the biggest construction projects in Europe. An 18 month transformation programme will take place after the Games, laying the foundations for further development across East London over the next 20 years. The transformation has three main objectives: To clear Games-time structures including temporary venues, bridges, walkways and roads; to connect the Park to the surrounding area with new roads, cycle and foot paths; and to complete permanent venues, bridges and parklands ready for residents’ and visitors’ everyday use.