Can I thank Russell George for his contribution and his questions, and also for his enthusiasm for this and other major events that we’ve hosted in Wales in recent years? We do have a proud record of hosting quality major events of global significance, including the Ryder Cup, for example, which placed Wales on a global map in terms of the country as a golf destination, as well as a raft of major sporting, and, indeed, cultural events, and working to make sure that we take a strategic approach to hosting major events to capture repeat visitors and also to attract new investment to the country and to portray Wales as a place where quality of life is of paramount importance. The benefits of the Champions League final will be considerable, but they won’t be confined to just economic benefits—although the economic impact is assessed to be something in the region of £45 million in the immediate period, and in the immediate aftermath of the Champions League final. But we expect, as a result of hundreds of thousands of people visiting Cardiff, to see future visitor numbers increase accordingly, with more overnight stays as a result of people experiencing the warmest Welsh welcome possible in our capital city.

I think the Member raises a very important point about the importance of the Champions League final, and indeed other major sporting events, to the ‘healthy and active’ agenda that this Government has. It's absolutely essential that we use major sporting events not just to attract people to visit Wales, but also to ensure that people within Wales become more active in their daily lives and to inspire not just a future generation, but current generations as well to be more active and more sporting.

After the Euros last year, the Welsh Government, through Sport Wales, worked with a number of national governing bodies, principally the FAW, in promoting, particularly to under-represented groups, the potential to get involved in football. And as a consequence of continued investment and effort, we've seen a remarkable increase in the number of girls, in particular, who have taken up football. We've seen a far greater increase proportionally in the number of girls registering as football players than women and, indeed, boys. So, clearly, football is becoming far more attractive as a sport, as a form of physical activity, for girls. But we wish to maintain the momentum that has been built up before, during and after the Euros by engaging with schools, as the Member outlined, through the intervention of school curriculum work to ensure that young people become more enthused and more aware of the opportunities that are on their doorstep.

A legacy project of the Champions League final will be the establishment of a community football facility in Cardiff in an appropriate area, which we expect will be utilised by those particularly in disadvantaged areas who may lack free or affordable access to sporting facilities. In the years to come, I would hope that many of those who go on to use this legacy pitch will become registered as footballers themselves. We’ll also use the Champions Festival to promote Wales as a holiday destination and also as a destination in which to invest and to do business. But we've been using the Champions League final as a lever to attract more attention to Wales for many months now. We headlined our presence at the Berlin travel show, for example, with the presence of the Champions League final in Cardiff this June, and we will be doing so during the summer months by tweeting, by making available appropriate content for stakeholder websites to showcase the very best of Wales with photographs, with text and with short videos. We have, and are learning lessons constantly from the major events that we host. I know that one of the concerns that Members representing the Cardiff constituencies have is the use of the field that was used for the Eisteddfod as a Cardiff campsite for the Champions League itself. We’ve learnt a good number of lessons from our experience with the Eisteddfod and we continue to ensure that the park is protected for its users. The campsite is going to be used from Monday May 22, and will operate from 31 May to 5 June. But I would remind Members that activity will be taking place there in preparing the park from 22 May. We’ve prepared a questions and answers sheet, which is available on the bute-park.com website, if any residents or any Assembly Members have any queries.

We’ve also learned a good number of lessons about managing vehicle and train travel. The train operators are working as a joint team for this event. So, Network Rail, Arriva Trains Wales, Great Western Railway, and CrossCountry Trains are working collaboratively with event organisers to ensure that the railways are in a position to manage the demand of an event of this scale. This is an enormous event, and if I can run through some of the figures relating to rail travel in particular, I think it will highlight how much preparation has gone into this particular event: 15,000 more passenger journeys on the rail network post-match will be delivered compared to the Rugby World Cup in 2015; there’ll be 60,000 post-match rail journeys in total, including 21 high-speed train services to London; 25,000 air charter passengers are set to arrive and depart the airports in Cardiff, Birmingham and Bristol, supported by over 450 transfer coaches and two large staging facilities in Cardiff. We’re also arranging new, bespoke park-and-ride schemes, which will cater for 7,500 spaces at Llanwern and Pentwyn, and in addition, there will be 5,000 park-and-walk spaces in the Cardiff Bay area, supporting access directly to the UEFA Champions League Festival.

In addition, 10 per cent of the UK’s available coach market will be utilised for the Champions League final. This is an incredible number of coaches. We estimate something in the region of 1,250, and we are working in collaboration with operators such as National Express to ensure that, across Wales, and across the UK, visitors to Cardiff during the Champions League experience, will have the highest quality experience, and that they will be able to get in and out of Cardiff as seamlessly as possible, and in the shortest time possible. But I would once again urge Members to relay to their constituents that this is an unprecedented event. We should be very proud of this event, but we should also prepare well for it.