But the battle for the hearts and minds of the British public, in the north and elsewhere, has already begun – and ex-Paralympian Giles Long MBE is in the vanguard.

Long, a speaker this week at Leeds University's series of open lectures beginning the countdown to the 2012 Olympics, is passionately convinced of the benefits the world's greatest sporting celebration will bring and he is determined to win the public debate over whether the forthcoming Games is really worth the cost.

"I am trying to engage people from Leeds and Leeds University in the Games," he explained. "Although the games are in London, I am trying to get people to really think about what it can mean for Leeds.

"It is definitely relevant to people here. You can start from the simple fact that Leeds is incredibly well connected to King's Cross, which is well connected to the Olympic Park.

"In two to two-and-a-half hours from Leeds, you could be in the Olympic Park. It would probably take someone from south London pretty much the same time to get there.

"Also, there's going to be a lot of foreign teams looking for training venues in the UK prior to the games. There's a whole cultural thing there, particularly because Leeds is so well served with sporting facilities. And then you've got a national event, like the football which is travelling all around the country.

"I know it's a cliche, but the only limit to people's involvement is their imagination. I have been and spoken in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham and people there don't think it's a Games for them, because it's not in the same borough. You really have to open your mind to it."

The London Games has had a rocky ride so far, with costs mounting, the country heading into a major recession and apathy rampant in many parts of the country. Long, though, has no doubts the next Olympics will be a triumph.

"There hasn't been an Olympics in history that hasn't got completely slagged off for about three years and 11 months before it opened," he said. "Even the Sydney Games.

"People have a view of Australians as being so up-beat and optimistic, but before Sydney they were saying it was going to be awful and a disaster. Once the Olympic flame started going around Australia, people started thinking 'it really is coming to our country' and they had a fantastic Games.

"Sydney really raised the bar in terms of the legacy it left for the country."

Long said the "cultural Olympiad" has already started and he likens the build-up to the Games to the football World Cup, which actually starts a couple of years – through the qualifying matches – before the first ball of the finals is kicked in anger.

A Leeds University graduate, in geological sciences, Long's lifelong dream was to swim in an Olympic Games.