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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of Stay Ahead of the Games UK in Ukraine

12th September 2011

Ukrainian sport and London 2012

One of the best things about being an ambassador is the opportunity to meet a wide range of people.  So I was delighted on 10 September to attend the Day of Physical Culture and Sport in Kyiv to talk about London 2012.

Ukraine has a terrific sporting tradition and it was a privilege both to meet again sporting legends such as Sergei Bubka and to meet modern-day Olympians such as diver Anna Sorokina.  Best of all was to move around and say hello to all kinds of people engaged in all kinds of sport from football to hockey to trampolining, weight-lifting, table-tennis and many others.  I hope the mass participation in sport I witnessed on Saturday augurs well not only for the future physical and mental well-being of Ukrainians, but also for a solid haul of medals at London 2012.

You can read more about the Day of Physical Culture and Sport at the link above.  Some pictures are below.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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2012 bubka embassy leigh london olympics Politics Sport turner ukrainian

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