More than 6,000 youngsters from across the capital joined in the celebrations at the London Youth Games Finals Festival, which was held at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford earlier this month [The London Youth Games]

FOXY the mascot joined in the celebrations as the curtain came down on another action-packed season in the London Youth Games.

Athletes representing Team Islington certainly enjoyed taking part in Europe’s largest annual multi-sports youth event.

Over the past nine months, they scored vital points by competing in 24 different activities, helping Islington finish 17th out of 33 London boroughs, and sixth in the Most Improved Trophy.

The Games came to an official close with a special “Finals Festival”, which was held at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.

There, families were greeted by a series of fun events, including live music, dancing, freestyle football, climbing, boccia and e-sports.

Professor Geoff Thompson, five-time world karate champion and chair of LYG, said: “The Finals Festival 2025 demonstrated the power of London’s sporting and cultural ecosystem coming together to provide a memorable experience for young people.

“We continue to honour the legacy of the late Queen Elizabeth II and believe that sport is a fundamental human right for every young Londoner. We look forward to creating even more opportunities in the year ahead.”

Islington also recently held their GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) Awards, where 54 talented athletes were announced as the latest beneficiaries of £38,050 worth of support.

Now in its 17th year, the GSF has so far contributed over £17million worth of funding and support and distributed over 30,000 awards to young and talented athletes in 70 areas of the UK where GLL operate across 117 different sports.

The GSF supports athletes through financial bursaries, access to physical rehabilitation and mental wellbeing support and all athletes are also given access to over 250 sport and leisure facilities across the UK operated by GLL under its “BETTER” brand.

Amongst the Islington GSF-supported athletes is Blaine Hunt, who won a silver medal at the Paralympics Games in track cycling.

Reflecting on the awards, which were held at the Islington Town Hall in Upper Street, community sports manager, Mikael Kiviniemi, said: “It was wonderful to hear such inspiring stories at the presentation event from these local talented athletes.

“We are pleased to help support them on their sporting journey.”