An Introduction to the Cultural Olympiad
Every Games is required by the International Olympic Committee to stage a cultural programme, however it is left to each Games to determine the scale and nature of such a cultural celebration.
The UK’s four-year Cultural Olympiad kicked off nationally on September 26 to 28 2008. In Kent we celebrated this national launch in Dover, Margate, and across Swale district.
The UK’s Cultural Olympiad has three official themes; Inspiring and Involving Young People; Creating a Legacy; and Celebrate London and the UK welcoming the World.
The UK’s Cultural Olympiad will be focused in its final months on delivering a “Festival 2012”. Festival 2012 will run from 21st June – 9 September 2012 and is expected to feature a series of ‘festival trailblazers’ leading to the finale of the Cultural Olympiad. At the heart of the Festival will be a programme of new commissions by world-class artists and creative talents.
The Cultural Olympiad will continue to have three ongoing elements:
- Ceremonies – extraordinary live spectacles such as the Opening and Closing ceremonies, medal ceremonies, and the Torch relay, watched on television by one in three people around the world.
- Major projects – A number of major national cultural projects featured in the London 2012 bid, which form the backbone of the Cultural Olympiad. These include Artists Taking the Lead (12 artists’ commissions across the UK), Somewhereto (a project to empower young people to find ways to access space for sport or cultural activity), and Unlimited (a series of commissions and workshops for disabled artists and arts organisations). A member of the Kent 2012 Arts sectoral task group (see below) has been appointed to link in with each of these as they develop.
- Inspire Mark projects – the Inspire Mark will be awarded to local and regional events featuring in London 2012’s officially branded UK-wide celebration. The brand will be available to not-for-profit cultural events or programmes for up to 12 months usage. Criteria for accreditation to the brand will be tough – those interested should follow this link to London 2012’s Inspire Mark webpages
In Kent, the following projects have so far received the Cultural Inspire mark from London 2012:
- Pulse
- Charivari Day
- Bandstand Marathon
- All Dancing Dover
- Cultural Baton Schools outreach work (www.kentculturalbaton.com)
- Celebratory and Outdoor Performance Online Resource www.copor.co.uk
- Kent County Youth Theatre Festival
- Cultural Baton: first three months programme
Locally, Kent has identified the following as our top priorities for the Arts in Kent off the back of the London 2012 Games (the below have been reviewed and are currently out for consultation with the sector)
- Continue to explore/establish an outdoor events toolkit.
- Invest in and grow Kent’s existing series of festivals, focusing in partioular on developing volunteers in arts programmes.
- Explore the establishment of a Creation Centre or Centres in one or more key locations in Kent, including the Thames Gateway Kent.
- Use arts to create a sense of place and improve the public realm experience for visitors, focusing in particular on transport hubs.
- Continue through partners to track/monitor and input to each strand of the Cultural Olympiad Major Projects.
- Input and support the County’s bid for the Olympic Torch to enter the UK through Dover in 2012.
- Explore ways to promote and enhance existing arts activity through using the Olympic and Paralympic Values.
- Respond to and influence the South East’s Accentuate programme.
- Through the launch of the Kent Cultural Baton, provide communities across the county with the unique opportunity to interact with, and contribute towards, the Cultural Olympiad and the cultural offer in Kent.
Partners in the Kent Campaign for the 2012 Games Arts sectoral task group have identified these priorities and are working with wider partners to deliver these to create a long term benefit to the Kent Arts sector from the London 2012 Games.
The official Kent Cultural Baton website is now live! It is still being developed and improved, but the new website will take let you follow the journey of the Baton with exciting photos and videos and details of upcoming venues and events.
In 2010 the Cultural Olympiad will help celebrate two years to go until the start of the Olympic Games through the Open Weekend. Find out more here.
For more information on any aspect of Kent, the Cultural Olympiad or the Arts, and the London 2012 Games, please contact sally.staples@kent.gov.uk or browse Kent 2012 Arts
Click here to download an application to be added to the Cultural Olympiad mailing list.
(Last updated July 2010)
