£1m for Olympic stars

Plans for "Olympic scholarships" to prepare the next generation of sporting stars for the 2012 games, will be announced today.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell will promise government funding for 100 young people a year to help them train for the Games.

The scheme, to be unveiled at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton, is designed to underline the Government's commitment to London's Olympic bid. Under the plans, young children aged between 10 and 16 will be able to apply for grants of up to £20,000 to help fund their training programmes.

Labour officials said this age group had been specifically chosen to help the generation who will form the backbone of the British team at the 2012 Games. "This is an investment in our most talented sportsmen and women," said one official.

Ms Jowell hopes the scholarships will provide a further boost for London's 2012 bid. She is expected to use her speech to praise the progress of the London Olympics campaign and stress the Government's determination to secure the Games for Britain.

In addition to her conference speech, Ms Jowell will later join Mayor Ken Livingstone and Lord Coe, the leader of London's bid, at an event to publicise the campaign.

The Government is investing £1 million a year in the scholarship scheme, with the money coming from the Culture Department's settlement in this summer ' s spending review.

The scholarships are aimed at talented individuals from poorer backgrounds who may not have access to equipment or coaching.

To qualify for the grants they will have to be endorsed by a recognised sporting organisation such as a club or local association. They will also have to prove they can raise an unspecified amount of matching funding. Successful applicants could use the money on additional coaching, sports equipment and the chance to travel abroad for winter training.

"This is primarily for children from struggling families who lack the funds to get the best coaching, nutrition advice and sports facilities," said the official.

At a fringe meeting Mr Livingstone spelled out the benefits the rest of the UK would gain from London hosting the Games.

He said towns and cities across the country would have the chance to host international teams competing at the events.

The Mayor also explained how the modern Games rely on the goodwill of 100,000 volunteers, who would be drawn from across Britain.

"What the rest of the country will get is 200 teams coming from around the world.

"Some will come for a fortnight and some will come for two months and they need to be based in sports complex to train and acclimatise.

"There isn't anywhere in Britain that cannot get an upgrade to its sports complex and be a base for one of these teams," he said.

" That's the legacy: upgraded sports complexes across the UK and funds levered in from the totality of the budget," he added.