Shall I compare thee to an Olympic Summer's Day? Mayor unveils winners of poetry competition

Mayor Boris Johnson announced the winners of his 100 great things about the Games poetry competition and unveiled news of a local Kensington and Chelsea 11 year old boy that has been shortlisted for the competition. 

Launched on National Poetry Day last October, the competition invited young Londoners to write a poem about what they thought was best about the London 2012 Games and reveals the young literary talent in London.

Part of Boris Johnson's efforts to improve literacy in London, the competition received over 2,000 entries, making it one of the most successful Mayor of London schools competitions to date.

The judging panel, including Holly Pick, Time Out Kids Editorial Manager, Julia Donaldson, Children's Laureate, and young athlete, Stephanie King, were all extremely impressed by the standard of the entries.

Here is the poem by local Kensington and Chelsea student, Callum Stoddart, 13 from West Brompton

XXX

Fifteen hundred years have past,
The modern Olympics are here at last.
The people of London will carry the torch,
As Bolt runs like his feet are scorched.

Three games were cancelled due to World War 2,
You may not have known but believe me it's true.
The atmosphere of the Olympics died,
As nobody's talent blossomed or shined.

The 2012 Olympics will bring,
All the Queens soldiers out to sing.
As Shanaze, Tim, and Chris Hoy,
Cross the line, the crowd scream with joy!

The London red buses will rev and toot,
As the archers prepare to aim and shoot.
When Tony Jeffries throws in a punch,
You hear a snap, crack, thud and a crunch.

The whole nation will watch with pride and glee,
Because the great British flag is all they can see.

All of the poems, including 11 other shortlisted poems, are all available to view in an online poetry gallery www.london.gov.uk/poetry

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “We received over 2,000 wonderful poems, proof that young Londoners are motivated, focussed and imaginative. I’m delighted to see such a youthful passion for prose, inspired by what will undoubtedly be the most amazing year in the capital's long history as we prepare to host the 2012 Games. Special congratulations to our winner Fope Jegede for the remarkable poem 'The Champions Story' and to the other worthy runners up.”

Stephanie King, a young athlete and student at Birmingham University who assisted on the judging panel said “I thoroughly enjoyed reading the poems and was very impressed with how good they were. I am sure I could not have written such clever and interesting poems when I was that age! It was so hard to decide on my favourites.”

The overall winner, Fope Jegede, will receive an exclusive Olympic Park bus tour for up to 30 of her friends and family. The three highly commended poets will each receive a certificate plus Poetry Society Youth Membership.