Charity will support Olympic legacy

A promise to “inspire a generation of young people”, including a “headline ambition” to have “tens of thousands of young people participating in cultural activities as a result of the 2012 Games” is contained in the DCMS’s new report, ‘Before, during and after: making the most of the London 2012 Games’. The document, which is characterised by the DCMS as a ‘legacy plan’, aims to identify the long-term benefits of the London 2012 Olympics. A further aim is “to demonstrate the UK is a creative, inclusive and welcoming place to live in, visit and for business”. The document invites organisations and individuals to “play their part in fulfilling the potential of the Games”. A new charity, The Legacy Trust “for ensuring a sporting and cultural legacy”, has been established with a contact in each UK nation, endowed with £40m: from the DCMS (£6m); Arts Council England (ACE) (£5m from Lottery funds); the Big Lottery Fund (£5m) and the Millennium Commission (£24m). Funding for projects outside England will come from the latter two sources. Ten UK-wide projects are being developed with cultural partners, including ‘Shakespeare Now’ and a ‘Festival of Carnivals’, while the ‘Big Creativity Week’, celebrating the Games, will take place in all UK primary schools. The report says that funding for Cultural Olympiad projects “will need to come through existing funding bodies”, and lists ACE, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the national museums and the UK Film Council. It is also expected that local authorities, Regional Development Agencies and charitable trusts will contribute. LOCOG, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, will seek commercial sponsorship, and “is working with government to provide a guide to funding sources for the Cultural Olympiad”.