The ambassadors will be sporting their pink and purple uniforms all over London to welcome visitors for the Olympics.
By Asif Faruque and Anna Tabrah
Boris Johnson visited Wimbledon station this morning for the launch of the Team London Ambassadors scheme uniform.
The ambassadors will be sporting their uniforms all over London to welcome visitors for the Olympics.
They were joined by the Mayor of London as they proudly showed off their new pink and purple polo shirts.
Mr Johnson congratulated the volunteers on completing the first module of their training and was confident the young ambassadors would do a brilliant job.
The information ‘pod’ based outside Wimbledon station is one of more than 40 spread across London.
The pods, which are manned entirely by volunteers, will be a source of information for visitors and Londoners.
Operations Manager of the scheme, Duncan Rosie, says 8,000 volunteers are involved, spread over 43 London locations.
The volunteers, who were whittled down from 33,000 applicants, will complete three days of training in preparation for the Olympics.
The training involves general knowledge about London and the Olympics as the volunteers will act as guides for visitors during the games.
Following the 2007 terrorist attacks in London volunteers are also being given extensive security training as part of the programme.
“For the ambassadors, this training is crucial,” Mr Rosie said.
The East London Business Alliance (ELBA) charity is working with Rep London volunteering project to involve young people between the ages of 14-19 in the scheme.
Project Administrator Nazmin Begum said: “We’re getting them geared up for the Olympics.”
She added: “They’re all really excited about it.”
However it is not just young people getting involved in the scheme – the most senior ambassador is a proud 85 years of age.
The volunteers will hit the streets of London on the 20th of July.
In their new magenta shirts, London ambassadors can’t be missed.
For more information, visit the pod in front of Wimbledon train station.
Footage courtesy of WinkBall.
