ARTS - Dec 06 archive
BRITISH CULTURAL OLYMPIAD – THREE TIER APPROACH
Early indications about the British Cultural Olympiad, that will run from September 17th 2008 (closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Games) until September 9th 2012 (closing ceremony of the 2012 London Games) are that there will be three so-called “tiers” of activity.
The Olympiad, defined by the DCMS as “an opportunity to showcase the very best of Britain's arts, culture and creativity to a world-wide audience and to encourage excellence and greater participation by children, young people and communities across the country” now traditionally takes place in the four years preceding every Games, with is nature and approach very much determined by the host city and country.
Tier One – this tier will consist of signature events that the London Organising Committee is legally obliged to stage e.g. the handover ceremony at Beijing, opening and closing ceremonies in London, the torch relay, the medal ceremonies.
Tier Two – this will consist of cultural events that form part of a national programme yet to be fully determined. Current thinking includes a national film library programme, and a Shakespeare programme.
Tier Three – this relates to cultural activity at the community/local level, and therefore the one likely to be of greatest interest to Kent partners, although The Kent Coordinating Group for the 2012 Games’ Arts Group will of course keep an eye on tier two and as to what programmes might emerge. It is envisaged that some of the events in this third tier will be able to apply for London 2012 branding, and will be subject to assessment that the event meets the London and Olympic ethos. The London Organising Committee has made it very clear that their branding will NOT be widely shared, and therefore any event that a local partner might stage would have to be well thought through to get any share of this London 2012 branding! Notwithstanding that, we are keen in Kent to have a "Kent Cultural Olympiad" and would look to promote and support local events in that way, including with our local branding.
Cultural partners should also note that a Legacy Trust has been established, with £40m available over four years (nation-wide, 2008 – 2012, and which the Government is hoping will be match funded) and which will begin to give out grants late 2007. Any bids against this fund have to have one of six foci, My World, My Legacy, My Community, My Region, My Country, My Olympics. For further details please visit www.millennium.gov.uk/lottery/trust.html
Efforts and direction around the cultural aspects of the Games continue apace, at national, regional AND local levels. Below is some key information from a presentation made recently to a number of cultural partners in Kent, to reflect some of the latest developments and their impact and opportunities for Kent.
National Branding. LOCOG are currently having discussions with the International Olympic Committee as to the extent to which national, and therefore Kent, partners may utilise and access official branding. This is inevitably always tightly controlled to protect the Olympic and Paralympic brand, but further details will be available early in the spring. Wolff Olins have been appointed by London 2012 to redesign the brand.
Regional Approach to the Arts and London 2012. Of the six working groups at regional level looking at the Olympics and Paralympics, one has been retitled Culture and Communities to more accurately reflect its remit. Chaired by Felicity Harvest of the Arts Council South East (ACSE), there are three emerging cultural priorities
Promote and celebrate Olympic values
Opportunity for equity within cultural sector
Compete, Create and Collaborate
These will be consulted on prior to March, but in the meantime information on the regional approach can be found at www.seeda.co.uk/...
SEEDA has indicated that any sports events that it funds and that will take place during the Cultural Olympiad’s four years (2008 – 2012) must have a cultural element.
SEEDA and ACSE have jointly funded a three month secondee to begin working up an approach around the South East’s cultural activities to celebrate the Games, and this role will be established until March 2007. It is hoped that that DCMS will be working with each Regional Development Agency, including SEEDA, to then appoint a permanent “cultural curator”. Jamie Watton is the secondee appointment.
Public Realm. There is interest across transport, tourism and arts partners both regionally and locally in Kent, that the Games be used as an opportunity to re-emphasise a sense of place by dressing transport hubs, public spaces or identified venues. In the Olympic Delivery Authority’s draft Transport plan it proposes only dressing four transport hubs, and this will be a point addressed in Kent’s submission to that consultation.
Local Update. The consultation period on the draft Kent Strategy for the 2012 Games has now finished, and responses are being collated and adapted to finalise the strategy. The stated aim of the Kent Coordinating Group for the 2012 Games’ arts group is “To use the 2008 – 2012 Cultural Olympiad to celebrate the role of the arts as the heart of an evolving, vibrant and prosperous Kent”, and six priority actions were put forward in the strategy to deliver on this. The draft strategy can still be viewed at by following this link
The arts sectoral task group is one of nine sectoral task groups set up by the Kent Coordinating Group for the 2012 Games. All these groups work together in a cross cutting fashion to ensure the opportunities of the Games are maximised through appropriate joint working.