Why we are launching Get Inspired

"London 2012 will inspire a generation."

Those words were part of Lord Sebastian Coe's spine-tingling speech at the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, a year ago on Friday.

While there is still plenty of debate about the exact nature of the London Games' legacies, there is no doubt that much has changed since then.

There is also much to look forward to. Tuesday marks a year to go until the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. We are in an astonishing era for sport in the UK.

That is why we are delighted to launch our Get Inspired project this week - taking forward that rallying cry issued by Lord Coe and felt by us all last summer.

There are two inter-linked elements to the project; a new BBC One magazine programme - Inspire: the Olympic Journey - and Get Inspired, a partnership project to help get the nation active.

Get Inspired

Working with Sport England, Sport Scotland, Sport Northern Ireland and Sport Wales - the bodies responsible for grassroots sport in the UK - as well as the wider sports sector, we want to use our platforms and programmes to help encourage the public to have a go at sport.

This campaign will run across our extensive TV, radio and online output. We will run films, features and articles which will inspire our audience to take up sport. We will direct audiences to our Get Inspired website, where they can search for activities and, by entering their postcode, locate sports and events near them.

This is a three-year campaign which will start small this summer and become bigger each subsequent year, running right through to the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Looking ahead to 2014, there will be an increase in activity: kicking off with the Winter Olympics in February, Sport Relief in March, the football World Cup and Wimbledon in June, the Open golf and Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July, and our 2014 FA Cup coverage among many other things.

Inspire: the Olympic Journey

This new BBC One magazine show has its first outing on Saturday (1245-1330 BST, repeated on Sunday (1215-1300 BST on BBC Two), and will heavily promote the Get Inspired campaign.

Presented by Gabby Logan, this monthly programme will chart the best and most inspiring stories in Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth sport.

It will provide a focus for our build-up to the Winter Games in Sochi, the Commonwealths in Glasgow, and the Rio Olympics - all events which the BBC will broadcast exclusively in the UK.

It gives an extra dimension to our coverage of Olympic sports - sports which already formed a significant part of our portfolio pre-2012, but to which we have since increased our commitment - with more budget, more events, more airtime and more web pages.

Our coverage of women's sport has increased too, with events such as the women's Ashes, women's Six Nations, women's Boat Race, Eastbourne tennis, women's Open golf and the women's football European Championship this summer.

On BBC Radio 5 live we are committed to covering more than 20 sports in live commentary - including less-covered sports like taekwondo and hockey - as well as covering topics within these sports in our weekly 5 live debate shows.

As you can see, as a public service broadcaster we take very seriously our role in the sporting culture of the UK.

Our research shows that some audiences are inspired to take up sporting action as a result of big event sports coverage.

We believe by adding these powerful initiatives to our output, we can help do our bit to get the country healthier and more active.