LONDON 2012: East End regeneration in full swing

By Charlie Talbot-Smith, Sportsbeat

TAKE AN overground train across east London and you don't have to look very far to make out some of the tangible benefits that London 2012 is bringing to the area. 

DOING HIS BIT: The Wire star Idris Elba is doing his bit to help in the regeneration of east London

The Olympic Park is nearing completion, with the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre already jostling for position on the skyline, while across the other side of the river the O2 arena that will host the gymnastics is ready to rumble. 

But regenerating a particularly down-trodden area cannot be done by impressive stadia alone, other work is underway to turn east London around. 

This kind of work focuses not on the economic benefits that something as enormous as an Olympic Games can herald, indeed it is a far more personal struggle, you need to get off the train to find it. 

Idris Elba, star of HBO's The Wire, is one of those people trying to make a difference in the fight to regenerate the East End. 

"I think it's fantastic that London has been chosen for the Olympics, the eyes of the whole world are going to be on us next year and it's a great chance to make some changes," said Elba, who grew up in Canning Town. 

"England isn't perfect, there are areas of London where there are serious problems, especially here in the east where there are young kids fighting pointless postal code wars. 

"Where I grew up we just didn't have role models, but with the Olympics coming next year there's a chance for a whole new generation of heroes, a chance for young people to get inspired all over again. 

"Not only that but there's going to be a lot of focus on troubled areas like this and there are a lot of people who are willing to go that extra mile to try and clean them up." 

One such person is Luke Dowdney MBE, founder and director of Fight for Peace, an international not-for-profit organisation which uses boxing and martial arts to help young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. 

Dowdney, who was himself a keen amateur boxer, founded Fight For Peace in Brazil in 2000 right in the heart of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro before setting up a second academy in North Woolwich in 2007. 

As many as 1,800 young members of the local community are now signed up to the east London project and in order to widen their appeal Dowdney recently announced the launch of the LUTA clothing range. 

LUTA is a new collection of fightwear that, unlike high street brands, has a real social mission with 50 per cent of the profits being driven straight back into the FFP academies. 

And Elba, who lends his voice to LUTA's first advert, admits that an academy like this is exactly what he would have loved when he was growing up.  

"I used to train as a kickboxer for seven years so this is a deeply personal project for me, I know full well the benefit that programmes like this can have," he said. 

"Where I grew up we had pretty much nothing, we certainly didn't have a boxing gym and if we did I don't know if I would even have come. 

"But now we have this opportunity to be a beacon and to show kids that there are other ways, the moment they come in here they have made a change for the good in their life. 

"Not only are we getting these kids off the streets and in the gym but while they're here they are releasing all that aggression that they have locked up inside."