London 2012 blog

It was fortunate that the downpour had subsided to a light drizzle.

8.15 in the morning is a bit early for the great and the good of the UK cultural sector (or any sector frankly) to gather outside London’s Tate Modern Gallery waiting to be seated in the cavernous Turbine Hall for a landmark speech by the Prime Minister about culture.

Why all the fuss? Well, no one there could remember the last time a serving Prime Minister had delivered a keynote speech solely on the subject of Culture and the Arts.

There were, of course, cynics who put this down to Tony Blair managing part of his legacy.

That’s too easy a hit. The reality is that his main theme, the success story that is the UK’s cultural sector, deserves to be told – indeed it's well worth shouting about.

The last decade has seen real growth in UK culture and arts and the results are world beating. In purely economic terms the sector has grown at around 5% per annum, well above most of the UK economy, it has brought new jobs, attracted more private sector sponsorship as well as more public funding and prompted waves of new tourists to the UK.

Many UK cities, such as Gateshead, Salford and Bristol have hard evidence that their regeneration has been turbo-charged by major cultural projects.

Looking to the future, the Prime Minister talked passionately about the 'success story' of the arts and the role that London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games can play in promoting the UK’s cultural life and assets – it’s a position that I agree with totally and a subject that I am also passionate about in my role as Director of London 2012’s Culture Programme for the Games.

The Prime Minister said a key reason for London’s successful bid was our culture.

We now have a unique opportunity to use the 2012 Games as a platform to showcase our cultural vibrancy and diversity along with the innovation of our creative industries on the world’s biggest stage – the Olympic and Paralympic Games; it's an opportunity to highlight the power of sport, culture and the arts to change lives and inspire young people.

We plan to place culture at the centre of the Games, right from the selection of cultural and ceremonial landmarks such as Horse Guards Parade, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and many others as stunning backdrops and temporary venues for the Games.

The PM’s speech over, and it's back to business as a new day dawns. As chance has it I’m back to the Tate Gallery again today, this time for a gathering of London’s visual arts sector. They’re coming together to see how they can jointly rise to the challenge and the opportunity to create something particularly special for 2012. Tony would be pleased – and more importantly so should Londoners and everyone who visits the UK during the Cultural Olympiad!