Olympic volunteers keep spirit of the Games alive with charity single

by Tim Lamden Tuesday, January 15, 2013
11:28 AM

The athletes are long gone and the venues are now empty but for one group of Olympic volunteers the spirit of last summer’s Games is still very much alive.

For the last six weeks, Golders Green resident Sara Ashlea, 53, has joined more than 100 fellow volunteers each week to rehearse an Olympic-inspired charity single they hope to see race to the top of the charts.

The group of musicians, singers and dancers have adopted the name Vision and hope to release their song, Keep The Flame Alive, in coming months in support of charity SportsAid.

Ms Ashlea, of Golders Green Crescent, performed in both the Olympic and Paralympic opening ceremonies last summer and has now taken over the role of organiser for Vision.

She said: “Volunteering is the best thing I have ever done, it was absolutely phenomenal. The public may think it’s over but it isn’t.

“We have got 12 secret Facebook groups for people who were involved in the Olympics and Paralympics.”

The charity single, which has been recorded as a demo and is being rehearsed by Vision each week, is the work of Olympic volunteers Phil Scotton and Mark Champion.

After writing the lyrics to the song, Mr Scotton contacted Olympic volunteers via the various Facebook groups appealing for support in helping to turn it into a charity single.

“Phil was so moved by what happened through the Olympics that he was just sitting on a train one day and wrote some words,” said Ms Ashlea.

“Mark Champion came forward and wrote the music for it and then I came along to the first rehearsal as someone who would sing in the choir. The ultimate goal is that we have a single that we are hoping to get on TV and on the radio.”

So far, the group have designed their own logo, which is being printed on special Vision t-shirts, and have contacted London Mayor Boris Johnson seeking his support for the song.

“It feels a little bit like this song has got a life of its own now, a little bit like the Olympics,” said Ms Ashlea.

“I hope we make a massive amount of money for SportsAid and then take it onto different charities.

“It’s all about continuing the spirit of togetherness and doing something for other people instead of thinking about yourself all the time.

“Watch this space, I have so much work in progress at the moment!”