Monday, 16 August 2021
The Prime Minister and Culture Secretary have announced that the Government will provide £232 million to support Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes in preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The £232 million will be used to back aspiring Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes as well as their coaches and support staff, in addition to funding from the National Lottery. This £77.4 million a year to elite sport agency UK Sport is an increase from the £54 million a year government cash UK Sport received for Tokyo 2020 – a rise of more than 44 per cent.
The news will provide a major boost for Team GB’s returning athletes following their stunning performances in Tokyo, and the Paralympic athletes set to grace the world stage in the Paralympic Games that begin later this month.
They will be in line to benefit from UK Sport’s World Class Programme and Progression Funding, which will provide vital support towards reaching the pinnacle of their sports as preparations begin for Paris 2024 and beyond.
The investment will also support athletes and coaches targeting success at the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, and help kick-start the search for the next generation of Olympic and Paralympic champions.
It came as the Prime Minister and Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston attended the Team GB Homecoming event at Wembley Arena yesterday, where the medal-winning success of the likes of Adam Peaty, Jason and Laura Kenny, Tom Daley and Sky Brown was be celebrated in front of a live audience and broadcast to the nation at home on BBC One.
Team GB and Northern Ireland won 65 medals in 25 different disciplines, broader than any other country, including in BMX and Skateboarding for the first time at what was the latter sport’s inaugural Games. These medals placed Great Britain and Northern Ireland fourth in the medal table.
The Paralympic Games will see around 240 athletes representing ParalympicsGB in Japan, including the likes of track stars Jonnie Peacock and Hannah Cockroft and swimmer Ellie Simmonds.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Team GB showed us the very best of this country in Tokyo – demonstrating sportsmanship, hard work and record-breaking performances.
“From the pool to the track to the velodrome, our Olympians gave us so many reasons to be proud, and to celebrate their extraordinary success.
“This increased funding will support Team GB to deliver their best possible performances in three years’ time in Paris.”
Dame Katherine Grainger, Chair of UK Sport, said: “This commitment from our Government, as well as the incredible support we receive from National Lottery players, gives us greater certainty of delivering more extraordinary moments to reach, inspire and unite the nation in Beijing and Paris, and also sets us up perfectly for the ‘greatest decade’ of sport that we hope to deliver in the years to come. Our thanks go to Government and The National Lottery for their unwavering support for Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes.”
With the challenges of disrupted training schedules, lockdowns and additional safety measures, lottery and government funding, coupled with athletes' hard work and extreme dedication, enabled 376 Team GB athletes to be selected for Tokyo - making it the biggest Team GB at an overseas games.