Young people from all over the UK will get the chance to compete in the biggest ever school sports event launched today in Battersea Park, London.

The four-day championship - called the UK School Games and which the Chancellor unveiled in his Budget speech - will be designed to replicate the feel of a major multi-sport event such as the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games or the Commonwealth Games.

The Glasgow Games will be funded by the Millennium Commission who will provide a National Lottery grant of £1.5m. Glasgow will host the first Games, which will take place from 7-10 September 2006. Youth Sport Trust will be responsible for staging the Games, which will include athletics, swimming, gymnastics, table tennis and fencing plus disability events in athletics and swimming. More events will be added to subsequent tournaments, which will be held in cities across the UK. Competitors will experience an Opening and Closing ceremony, medals and accommodation in a Games village.

Floella Benjamin OBE, Millennium Commissioner and Marathon runner said:

"I am delighted to announce a grant of £1.5m for the UK School Games in Glasgow. The Games provides a tremendous opportunity for young people, both with and without disabilities, across the UK to compete on a national stage. The Millennium Commission has always been committed to giving young people an opportunity to achieve their potential, and this is a wonderful opportunity to get kids involved in the spirit of competition."

Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said:

"As one of its final acts, I want to thank the Millennium Commission for its award of £1.5M of National Lottery money to the Youth Sports Trust to help create the UK School Games. It's also fantastic news that the Chancellor has committed £6 million to go towards staging the Games up to 2011. This will be a fantastic celebration of sport for young people, and a real legacy for generations.

We are absolutely determined to ensure that the whole country benefits from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The UK School Games is a brilliant way to capture the power of sport across the UK and inspire generations of youngsters to get involved in sport."

Minister for Sport, Richard Caborn said:

"The UK School Games will become the pinnacle of the school sport competitive calendar. This sporting event will build on the Government's plans for putting competitive sport back into schools, so that kids across the country, regardless of background, have the chance to go for gold on their own school sport stage.

Significant Government investment has been made in recent years to improve the position and profile of PE and school sport. Young people competing in this event will have come through this system.

I want to thank all the partners involved for helping to make this idea a reality - and helping change the face of school sport competition in this country."

The Games will be the culmination of an annual programme of competitive opportunities at a local, regional and national level and will build on Government and Lottery investment in school sport. Through the network school sport partnerships that will cover all schools this year, the UK School Games will result in long term sustainable change in the structure of school sport.

The Government has announced that it will support the UK School Games in the future. It is envisaged that events will be held in future years in Northern Ireland, Wales and the North, South and Midlands of England. Cities will be asked to compete to host the Games. The Millennium Commission is also considering whether it wishes to support the Games in the future as part of its wider plan to support activities associated with the Olympics.

Steve Grainger, Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said:

"The UK School Games will help us develop for the first time a national competition framework for school age children. This is a much needed component of the strategy to be a highly successful sporting nation and we are delighted to have been chosen to organise the first UK School Games in Glasgow."

Scotland's Sports Minister Patricia Ferguson said:

"An inspiring and vibrant city with a track record for hosting great events, Glasgow, Scotland's 2014 Commonwealth Games candidate city, is the ideal location for the first UK School Games.

As we prepare to welcome our athletes home from Melbourne following a great medal haul at this year's Commonwealth Games, this showcase of some of the most talented young competitors in the UK will ensure our stars of the future to have their chance to shine."

The Glasgow event is also being supported by Glasgow City Council, Sportscotland, EventScotland and VISA as presenting sponsor.

Colin Grannell, Executive Vice President and Managing Director Visa UK, said:

"Visa is proud to present the first-ever UK School Games. We truly believe that it is grassroots initiatives such as this that will pave the way to improving the standard of sport.

With Visa's heritage as a worldwide Olympic partner for over twenty years, as well as our support of paralympic sport through the Paralympic Games and the Visa Paralympic World Cup, the UK School Games is an important part of our long-term commitment to sport."

Councillor Archie Graham, Vice Convener of Cultural and Leisure Services & Chairman of the Sports Council for Glasgow said:

"We are delighted to be hosting the first ever UK School Games in Glasgow. This showcase of the most talented school age performers in the UK provides a tremendous boost for all of the young people who are the elite performers of the future."

David Williams, Chief Executive, EventScotland commented:

"Event Scotland is delighted to support the first UK School Games, which is designed to provide our talented young athletes with the opportunity to experience competitive multi-sport events in the build up for London 2012.

Hosting the first such games in Glasgow will also provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the city, and demonstrate that Scotland is one of the world's foremost events destinations as we develop our bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games."

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Notes to editors:

1. The Millennium Commission is a distributor of funds raised by the National Lottery and it has distributed over £2 billion to hundreds of project and thousands of people around the UK.

Its funding programmes have included a major national programme of capital projects, including the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Hampden Park Stadium in Glasgow, Odyssey in Belfast and new sports facilities with soccer and ten five-a-side pitches at Mile End Park in East London.

The Millennium Commission's income from the National Lottery ceased in August 2001. For further information please contact: Shabana Pathan, Communications Officer, Millennium Commission, 1 Plough Place, London, EC4A 1DE. Tel: 020 7880 2071 Mobile: 07771 565 606 Fax: 020 7880 2000; www.millennium.gov.uk

2. The Youth Sport Trust is a registered charity established in 1994 to build a brighter future for young people through sport. Its mission is to support the education and development of all young people through sport. Please visit www.youthsporttrust.org for more information.

3 Fast Track is delivering event management and media services for UK School Games with the Youth Sport Trust.

4. EventScotland is a joint venture between the Scottish Executive and VisitScotland. It was created to deliver the Major Events Strategy published by the Scottish Executive in November 2002.

The strategy is designed to maximise the benefits of existing events, to attract new events, to showcase Scotland's assets and to encourage more people to visit Scotland to experience at first hand major sporting, cultural and arts events being staged in the country. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.eventscotland.org

5. The BBC has been confirmed as the official broadcast partner for UK School Games in 2006.

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