News – Regions prepare for Cultural Olympiad

A network of Creative Programmers is to be created through Englands Regional Cultural Consortia to contribute to the delivery of cultural events in each of the eight regions outside London in the run-up to and during the 2012 Olympic Games. The posts will be created to encourage and enable arts and cultural bodies to get involved in the Cultural Olympiad, and create opportunities for the public to take part.
Those appointed will become the link between the regions and Londons 2012 organising committee, and will be responsible for assessing whether local projects meet the criteria to become part of the Cultural Olympiad. In addition to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, other arts events include a World Cultural Festival, the International Shakespeare Festival and the 5-rings Exhibition. A UK-wide Cultural Festival is also planned, to involve grass-roots community projects in the Games. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are still considering what arrangements to make for participating in the Cultural Olympiad, and the Greater London Authority is developing proposals for co-ordinating and delivering a pan-London cultural programme. Culture Minister, David Lammy, said, “The 2012 Games are set to be the greatest show on earth. But they will be about a lot more than a few glorious weeks of sporting excellence& The Cultural Olympiad needs to be genuinely UK-wide. Its about far more than the capital.”