London 2012 blog

I’ve met a lot of people who remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard we’d won the right to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I was at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds at the 2005 Artsmark award ceremony for schools, and the host opened proceedings with the news. The place erupted.  Teachers, young people, WYP and Arts Council staff – everybody. I still feel that thrill, that sense that this is going to change everything. As a born-and-bred Londoner who hadn’t actually been living or working there since 1996, I also felt huge pride and realised that my exile should perhaps be brought to an end.

But what an exile. I was Promoter at two of Moscow’s best clubs, ran a Russia-wide European Commission communications programme and then ran the British Council’s Arts programme across Russia until being tempted to Warsaw. It took something pretty special to get me back to the UK, which was the role of Creative Director of Creative Partnerships in Bradford and West Yorkshire. And now I’m at LOCOG, seconded from the Arts Council.

Why join? I love being part of something with a sense of mission. I love the international stage. I like a steep learning curve and a hectic pace, having to think on my feet. As many of us here have, I’ve run my own show so contributing to the greatest show on Earth is a logical and exciting challenge. I’m also something of a bridge between the Arts Council and LOCOG, so not completely striding into the unknown. And I didn’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contribute to something so huge for all of us in the UK and beyond.

The most fantastic show I saw recently was the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre on tour at the Bradford Alhambra. What amazing athletes. They chose three very different pieces to present, including Maurice Bejart’s “Firebird”, Twyla Tharp’s “The Golden Section” and a revival of Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations”. The audience was a mixed bunch, by my estimates – dancers, regular dance patrons and a lot of normal people. The infectious joie-de-vivre bursting from the dancers, especially during “The Golden Section”, coupled with breathtaking athleticism and technique, got to everyone. Our natural boundaries and British reserve began to melt. We somehow had permission to let go and be connected. We all wanted to be up there too, and people who’d been sniffy at standing up to let one another pass to get to their seats just a few minutes earlier were now grinning broadly at one another, catching people’s eyes and nodding.

This is what sharing an amazing cultural experience can do for people. The buzz was incredible, and the noise as we all reacted to what we’d experienced was in stark contrast to the hushed, polite tones as we waited for curtain-up. Complete strangers struck up conversations with one another. It felt like a bursting of the banks had taken place for everyone, including the dancers. This is the kind of buzz we hope will be building across the whole UK as part of the Cultural Olympiad once it launches in September 2008 and I can’t wait to be part of making that happen.