Gymsforall is an innovative concept, providing local communities with free, hard-wearing, weatherproof and environmentally friendly gymnasia, breaking down barriers to physical activity and improving health.

This is the first Gymsforall facility to be established in the UK, and is a partnership between Newham, and UEL, which is a partner in the Borough.

The Gyms for All concept comes from China, where the Government has set up thousands of similar outdoor gymnasia across the country in the run-up to the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2008.

Representatives from the Chinese Government and Beijing Sports University handed over the concept as a legacy gift to Newham and the University of East London. It is hoped that this will be the first of many such facilities to be set up across the UK by 2012.

Sanderson the 1984 Olympic javelin champion and founder of the Newham Sports Academy, developing local sporting talent for the 2012 Games, said: "Gymsforall is a wonderful initiative; I’m really looking forward to seeing people who might otherwise not have been able to afford gym membership now taking advantage of the free facilities here at UEL and hopefully soon around the whole of the UK.

"The University of East London is playing a key role in the development of the Newham Sports Academy, and today’s launch once more highlights UEL’s commitment to improving levels of health and fitness within its local community."

Professor Michael Thorne, Vice Chancellor of UEL, said: "We are proud to partner the Host Borough of Newham and our counterparts in Beijing in this exciting initiative. The success of London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is having a tremendous impact on our communities, and puts East London in the spotlight as never before.

"The challenge now is to learn from the experiences of other host cities, especially Beijing, so that we can best co-ordinate efforts locally and nationally to ensure the Games are a fantastic success that contributes positively to the social, cultural and economic regeneration of our region."

Paul Brickell, Newham's executive member for the 2012 Games, said: "We hope initiatives like this will encourage more people to participate in sport and fitness.

"The Council runs lots of programmes to motivate people of all ages to become more active, and we know how important it is to keep trying new things and get as many people as possible involved.

"Working with UEL and Gymsforall has been a really good experience and has delivered a great new facility for local people."

Ian Boast CEO of Gymsforall said: "Our vision at Gymsforall is to have free gyms in every community, to help make the UK a fitter and healthier nation. We want to help the nation get fit for 2012.

"The concept of outdoor gyms has been successfully used to get China active prior to their Olympic Games in 2008. Everybody is free to use the equipment, and there is no entry fee, subscription, or dress code!"

Beverley Gull, a three-time Paralympic gold medallist, is now completing her BA (Hons) Photography degree at UEL. She created a series of 10 prints of disabled athletes in action, to present to the Beijing delegation.

Brenda Edwards, currently starring in hit West End show Chicago, and Flawless, the UK’s champion break-dancers appeared in a finale specially choreographed by Venol to illustrate the vision of an active nation.