Today we’ve also opened registrations for the 2009 Open Weekend, so if you share the mission to open up your cultural or creative (or sporting) organisation to new audiences (and especially to young people) let us know - you can find out more and register online.
Secondly there’s been a really impressive set of figures revealed today by the Legacy Trust UK (and I should declare that I am one of its independent trustees). The Trust’s second round of regional grants means that in total some £24 million has now been allocated to a raft of cultural, sporting and education projects inspired by the 2012 games in every nation and region of the UK.
Even better, the Trust expects its investment to be more than matched by local and regional funding. The result is expected to be an injection of over £50 million to support thousands of people to realise their London 2012 dreams and legacies, and millions more to participate and reap the benefits.
The latest grants support a wide range of projects including a celebration of free running, new music commissions and a film festival. The Trust has summarised its second phase of regional grants as follows:
• £3 million to the North West for WE PLAY, a programme of activities including a regional festival of film and digital culture which will spill out from cinemas and galleries into the streets of the North West; an outdoor animation project; and a youth-led sports participation programme which will combine social networking with cycling, creating both online and outdoor routes and trails.
• £2.6 million to Scotland to bring together thousands of volunteers and artists, with projects ranging from street arts and circuses to a new exhibition about medicine and sport which will tour the country, and a celebration of Glasgow’s multicultural community.
• £2.25 million to Yorkshire for I Move Therefore I Am, which aims to improve the relationship between mind and body through culture sport and physical learning. Projects will range from free running and street arts to interventions aimed at challenging people’s sedentary lifestyles.
• £1.53 million to the North East for Generation 2012, which aims to build a more tuned-in, youth-focused arts sector in the region, and at the same time encourage young people to engage in arts in their own terms, through 12 ‘innovation’ projects and a series of showcase events.
• £1.31 million to Northern Ireland to engage all communities in sports and the arts and to raise ambitions by encouraging excellence. The projects will range from choreograpy to climbing and from free diving to chess, and will include a ‘Theatre Olympics’ festival as well as new music commissions by local composers from Ulster Orchestra.
You can find more about Legacy Trust UK and the other regional and national grants programmes on the Legacy Trust UK website
Now over to you Alistair...
