Olympic Ambassadors put through their paces

Buy photos » Allan Ward, Bino Thomas, David Boughie, Diana Stefanescu and Ngoni Kufa are just some of the many Olympic Ambassador hopefuls going through the selection process. Picture by Jon Mullis 06.012.027.cov.jm3 (www.buyphotos247.com)

APPLICANTS to become Coventry Ambassadors for London 2012 were this week being through a tough selection process.

More than 500 people have applied to be one of 300 official ambassadors to welcome visitors when the city hosts both men and women's football matches July and August.

And throughout this week a series of selection events have been taking place at the Council House, the Ricoh Arena and Xcel Centre to help recruit team leaders, linguists and ambassadors.

They were each interviewed and shown presentations detailing what their roles and responsibilities would be. Those chosen will find out by the end of March.

"The response has been fantastic and we want the volunteers to know they are part of a celebration for the city," said deputy council leader George Duggins.

"The selection events will be a great opportunity for the volunteers to begin to feel part of a bigger team."

The Coventry Ambassadors scheme has been one of the most successful public engagement campaigns the city has seen, with over 7,000 people visiting the website.