A team of top stars, including athletics legend Colin Jackson, are set to attend an open day at Kirkby Leisure Centre on Saturday, September 17.

The state-of-the-art £15.5m site, run by Everyone Active in partnership with Ashfield District Council, opened its doors to the public at the beginning of August.

The centre has proved a huge success so far, with nearly 4,000 people coming through the doors in the first week and membership numbers continuing to grow since then.

Now an open day will be held to celebrate the launch of the facility, with a wide variety of free and paid-for activities being laid on for the local community.

These activities begin at 7am on Saturday, September 17 and include gym sessions, soft play, virtual group cycling, face painting and balloon modelling, with the celebrities joining in the fun. For full information on the activity programme and to book selected activities, click here

The star guests will be:

• Colin Jackson (athletics) – Olympic silver medallist and double world champion over 110m hurdles. Held the world record for more than a decade
• Ola Jordan (dancing) – Spent 10 seasons as a professional dancer on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, winning the title with Chris Hollins in 2009
• ‘Eddie the Eagle’ Edwards (ski jumping) – The first competitor in 60 years to represent GB in Olympic ski jumping in 1988. Held the British record for 13 years
• Ross Davenport (swimming) – Two-times Commonwealth Games gold medallist and a mainstay of the Team GB squad for more than 10 years
• Ollie Hynd (swimming) – Three-times Paralympic Games gold medallist, alongside four world titles and a Commonwealth Games gold
• Ben Nuttall (football freestyler) – Performs across the world and is a three-times Guinness World Record holder

The day will formally begin with speeches in the sports hall at 9.30am, led by council leader Jason Zadrozny.

This will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the celebrities, which will include opportunities to secure selfies and autographs.

Ben Nuttall will then lead a football skills challenge with the VIPs, who will then head to different parts of the centre to take part in the activity programme.

Colin Jackson and ‘Eddie the Eagle’ Edwards will set gym challenges for the public to compete against, before racing customers on the climbing wall.

Ross Davenport and Ollie Hynd will compete against youngsters in the swimming pool and Ben Nuttall will head up football skills sessions for kids, while Ola Jordan will host beginner dance classes in the group exercise studio.

The open day is part of an overall weekend of celebration, which includes the council’s Discover Ashfield Awards on Friday, September 16. Further fitness activities and two free cinema screenings, ‘Minions – The Rise of Gru’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, will take place on Sunday, September 18.

Lorenzo Clark, Everyone Active contract manager, said: “We are so excited that Kirkby Leisure Centre is open and believe the huge programme of activities and celebrity involvement will prove the ideal way to celebrate with the whole community.

“We want to show as many people as possible the state-of-the-art facility on their doorstep, which has something for everyone, no matter what your age, interests or ability.

“We look forward to welcoming the public on Saturday, September 17, giving them the chance to try out the fantastic facilities and putting on a day to remember.”

Coun Zadrozny added: “I am so proud that Ashfield District Council was able to deliver Kirkby Leisure Centre.

“The council promised to build this state-of-the-art centre complete with swimming pools in 2019 and it really is a dream come true to now have the centre open for the people of Ashfield to enjoy.

“It is an incredible facility that will be a huge asset to the community. We look forward to seeing many of our residents during the celebration weekend.”

For more information on Everyone Active, visit www.everyoneactive.com