£16m Lottery bonanza for London 2012!
The Cultural Olympiad will receive £16million of investment from the Olympic Lottery Distributor, it was announced last week. The grant will help fund six of the so-called Major Projects that feature in the four-year (2008 – 2012) cultural celebrations.
The Cultural Olympiad celebrates British and International culture ahead of London 2012, inspiring creativity and encouraging participation.
Some of the Major Projects that will benefit from the funding include an international Shakespeare festival, the spectacular ‘World River’ music festival in 2012 and the 'Festival of Carnivals’, the UK's largest-ever celebration of disability art and culture.
Janet Paraskeva, Chair of the Olympic Lottery Distributor said: “Our aspiration is for London 2012 to be not just a festival of world-class sport, but also a celebration of art and culture which will involve all of the United Kingdom and its diverse communities”.
London 2012 Chair Sebastian Coe said: “It was our ambition that the Games would result in new investment to the UK’s creative industries so we are particularly grateful to the Olympic Lottery Distributor for helping to complete the architecture for the most wonderful cultural celebration for London 2012”.
This weekend Open Weekend brings the Cultural Olympiad back to Kent, celebrating just three years to go until the opening of the 2012 Games. For information of events near you, visit http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/open-weekend/event-search.php
Kent partners are working on bringing a number of the Cultural Olympiad’s Major Projects to life within our county through our Arts sectoral task group. For more information, please contact Sally Staples who chairs this group, sally.staples@kent.gov.uk.
