YOUNG athletes put on a show to celebrate the opening of a giant outdoor sport centre.

Local gymnasts, dancers and basketball players showed off their skills at the new AdiZone at Gravesend’s Riverside Leisure Area yesterday to mark its official opening.

Open 365 days a year and free to use, the 625 square metre zone includes a basketball, football and tennis area, a climbing wall, an outdoor gym and an open area for dance, aerobics and gymnastics.

It cost £143,000, with funding coming from its designer Adidas, Gravesham Council, and the government, and is part of the council’s efforts to use the 2012 Olympics to inspire residents to take up sport.

Council leader Councillor Mike Snelling said: “The AdiZone is enormously exciting for Gravesham, as it will help people across the borough get involved in sport and improve their health.

“Also, it provides a place for young people to go and do something positive, rather than hanging around on the streets.”

Local coaches and sports club organisers will be invited to attend the site, to spot talent and encourage young people to join local clubs and sporting organisations.

AdiZones were initially installed in four of the London 2012 Games host boroughs, and are now being introduced across the UK.

Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: "It’s fantastic to see Adidas expanding the AdiZone programme to Gravesham.

“The AdiZones inspire young people to become more active and help make our vision of encouraging these young people to choose sport a reality."

The council’s Go Gravesham campaign aims to capitalise on the borough’s close proximity to the Stratford site of the Olympics.

It hopes to attract tourists who are in London for the event and help local businesses get Games related contracts, such as supplying goods to the Olympic Village.