"Being a host city for the UK School Games is fantastic news for Sunderland. It's an honour to welcome the Games to our city by the sea and showcase the excellent sport and leisure facilities that the City Council has invested on over recent years, including the region's only 50m pool at Sunderland Aquatic Centre and two 25m community pools.

"Attracting high-profile events such as this showcase Sunderland's location on the coast, its green spaces and many positive attributes for young people and their families. Encouraging and supporting people of all ages and abilities to get active and improve their health and wellbeing is high on the City Council's agenda. What better way to encourage young people to take regular exercise than by seeing the UK's elite sporting talent competing across 10 Olympic and Paralympic sports in their own city?

"On behalf of the City Council and everyone in Sunderland, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the athletes, their families, event volunteers and organisers, as well as the spectators who will be travelling from across the UK for UK School Games 2010. We hope that the Games are a fantastic success and we wish the young athletes the very best of luck."

Cllr James Blackburn, Member with Portfolio for Attractive and Inclusive City at Sunderland City Council