Next year is going to be amazing and I want to tell you all about it. When David Cameron first asked me to take on responsibility for the Olympics, I decided two things.
Firstly I wanted to make sure there was a proper legacy from the Olympics. If were going to spend all this money, it must be about what we leave behind and not a one-off.
Secondly I wanted to make sure that legacy benefited the whole country and not just London.
So whats been delivered so far?
Sporting legacy
First of all a sporting legacy.
Unlike Labour, we Conservatives have always believed in competitive sport.
Weve always fought the nonsense left-wing orthodoxy that says competition is wrong because it damages childrens self-esteem.
Nothing damages a childs self-esteem more than not learning about winning and losing, not learning to stretch yourself and not learning to pick yourself up when things go wrong.
So I want the sporting legacy from next year to be very simple: more competitive sport for more children in more schools.
Last year in my first month in the job - I set up the School Games, an Olympic-style school sports competition open to every school in the country.
Today I can tell you that 7,439 schools have signed up more than a third of all schools in England.
All of them will have opening and closing ceremonies, rigorous Olympic-style tournaments with gold, silver and bronze medals, and winners who go on to take part in town, city and national finals.
And theres something else. As part of the School Games, all those schools will offer disability sport many for the first time.
We will banish for good the tragedy of disabled children being excluded from school sports.
And our sporting legacy doesnt stop there.
Do you know what one of the first orders we laid before parliament was?
It stopped Labours plundering of the National Lottery, returning John Majors creation to its original four pillars.
Which means, of course, a massive boost to grassroots sport.
In a year when nearly everyone else had their budgets cut, thanks to the lottery grassroots sport will actually see its overall funding rise over the next four years.
And rightly so. Because the point of the lottery has always been to protect vulnerable areas just at the time when they need it most.
A Conservative invention returned to its Conservative intention not helping Ministers with their projects but helping people with theirs.
Not expanding the Big State but nurturing the Big Society.
Business legacy
But our Olympic legacy isnt only about sport.
George talked about the challenges we face with the economy. So it is vital we ensure businesses up and down the country benefit from 2012.
Some already have.
Of over £6 billion of Olympic contracts, 97% have gone to UK companies.
Luton provided the seats in the Stadium.
Northampton did the paving in the Park.
Durham did the cladding for the Aquatic Centre.
And Manchester helped with the Handball Arena.
The result? Contrary to many predictions we have transformed our national reputation for large-scale construction contracts.
Lets face it with Wembley, the Dome, the Channel Tunnel and the Scottish Parliament we havent always had the best of track records.
But here we are delivering Europes largest construction contract a year ahead of schedule and within the same budget set in 2007.
Tourism legacy
But we can do much much more.
I want to use next year to transform our tourism industry as well.
Just think next year TV channels, newspapers and magazines will all be writing about Britain - from Beijing to Barcelona, from Tokyo to Toronto.
And we will have not just the Games but the Cultural Olympiad and the Torch Relay which take the focus all over the country.
When people see Edinburgh Castle, the Giants Causeway, Snowdonia or Hadrians Wall, John Penrose and I want to convert that strong interest into good business.
We want to harness 2012 to get an additional 4 million tourists coming to the UK in the years that follow.
And transform our domestic tourism industry by making 2012 the year to take a holiday at home with discounts at hotels and B&Bs up and down the country of 20.12%.
We have the best countryside, the best culture, the best castles and the best cities and so next year lets shake off our British modesty and tell the world we are a great country to visit.
And a great country to invest in as well.
More headquarters than anywhere else in Europe.
The best research, where 19% of the worlds top-selling medicines are developed.
And four of the worlds top 10 universities.
In the 1980s we rediscovered our enterprise economy: with a new government we want the world to know Britain is back for business.
And whilst were talking about Britain and Britains image abroad, let me say this about the events of this summer and speak directly to the criminals who destroyed so many shops and businesses.
You are a disgrace to your communities.
You do not speak for our cities or our country.
You may have vandalised our high streets but we will not let you vandalise our countrys reputation.
And next year we will show the world the real Britain and set the record straight.
Our athletes
Theres one group of people we havent mentioned.
Without them nothing can happen next year.
And that is our amazing Team GB athletes.
Last year I visited Tom Daley doing his training in Plymouth. That remarkable young man was training for 10 sessions a week, 6 days a week, day in day out nearly two years before the Olympics, and without even knowing if he was going to be selected for the team.
All for a moment that lasts less than 2 seconds.
Think of the discipline, persistence and courage that takes.
You see it even more powerfully with our Paralympians.
At the world wheelchair basketball championships in Birmingham I met a 16 year old girl from Wolverhampton called Frances Ray who hopes to represent her country in 2012.
When she was eight her life changed dramatically when she broke her back in a car accident.
She was told she would never walk again.
But she didn't give up. She took up sport.
She is so passionate about wheelchair basketball she told me she wouldn't change her life story even if she could.
What incredible positive thinking.
This summer was critical for our athletes in a number of world championships.
And they did really well.
Mark Cavendish got the gold medal in the World Road Race Championships.
Our rowers got 14 medals including 7 gold at the World Rowing Championships.
Our athletes got 7 medals including gold for Dai Green in the 400m hurdles and Mo Farah in the 5000 metres.
And our paralympic athletics team did amazingly well in New Zealand getting 12 Gold medals including some incredible performances from two of our guests on stage today.
Lets not forget that at the Beijing Olympics our athletes were extraordinary, with our Olympic team thrashing every country in Europe and, more importantly, the Australians.
And our Paralympians beating Russia and the USA to come second in the world.
So as they enter the final few months of training, lets send them one message loud and clear.
We know the pressure youre under. We know how hard youre working. We are incredibly proud of you. We know you can do it - and were with you every step of the way.
Conclusion
The determination of our athletes shows us that success is no one's divine right. But everyone's divine opportunity.
They also show that Britain can and does win.
Thats what next year must be all about a Britain thats started winning again.
We have so much to offer.
Not just sport, but the best culture including 3 of the worlds top 5 museums.
The best actors, winning more Oscars than any other country except America.
The best inventors, including the man who invented the world wide web.
The best music, the best literature, the best countryside.
And the proudest history where we have done as much to defend freedom and the rule of law than any other country on the planet.
But all of this success has come because at the biggest moments in our history, we have faced up to challenges and not ducked them.
We have recognised what our Olympic athletes all know.
Achievement doesn't come handed on a plate.
Success is not about luck or birth its about hard work and vision.
So as our athletes work hard to win for Britain, we too must work hard to get Britain winning.
And prove to the world that we are winners on the track yes - but winners off the track as well.