Yorkshire Opens Up For National Launch Of The Cultural Olympiad

Plans for the Cultural Olympiad, launched by London 2012 today include:

• Four years of cultural celebration, excellence and participation
• Inspire mark awarded to a Yorkshire project (details below).
• Major national projects

Inspired by the founder of the modern Olympic movement, Pierre de Coubertin’s idea of a marriage of sport and the arts, the Cultural Olympiad is designed to celebrate Olympic and Paralympic values in the cultural field. Over £40 million has already been earmarked for cultural activities across the United Kingdom that will create a welcome to the world for the 2012 Games. It will highlight the country’s regional diversity by using both culture and sport to create works and events that will bring people and places together, encourage audiences to take part, involve and inspire young people, and create a lasting legacy.

The launch weekend is themed ‘Open Weekend’ with cultural organisations across the country kicking off the celebrations for the Cultural Olympiad with many institutions and organisations offering the public the chance to see or take part in something which is happening as a special event, or that would normally take place behind the scenes.

The weekend is designed to fulfil the commitment that the London 2012 Games will involve and inspire everyone in the UK and across the world. The programme also includes projects which have been awarded the Inspire mark, recognising the quality and diversity of the work of large and small organisations around the country which would otherwise not be able to take part. This will be a first for any Olympic organising committee, leading the way for other host cities after London to adopt this more national and inclusive approach.

‘Open Weekend’ events are taking place across Yorkshire. Highlights include:

• City Moves - Cirque Bijou transform Centenary Square with colourful and breathtaking street circus in Bradford.
• Transports Exceptionnels – a dance duet between a man and a 13 tonne digger in Sheffield.
• A celebration in youth dance performance by ABC Dance and Leeds Rhinos Northern Ballet Theatre and others, in Leeds.
• Go behind the scenes at BBC Yorkshire as studios in Leeds and Hull open their doors.
• Create your own myth & legends stories in storytelling and writing in Hawes.
• Discover the creative industries as the Terrace, Lincoln, opens to the public.
• Discover your hidden talents and take part in Night Lights with the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.
• Learn about Arthur Wharton, the first black professional football player in Doncaster. (All events are detailed in full below.)

Central to the Cultural Olympiad are:

Inspire mark projects - The Inspire programme will help to deliver a core strand of London 2012’s commitment to deliver a Games for Everyone. The London 2012 Inspire mark is awarded to outstanding surprising, exciting, and brand new cultural projects inspired by London 2012 and recognised as helping to deliver the Games’ lasting legacy. The first project to be awarded the Inspire mark in Yorkshire is:

• Night Lights from the West Yorkshire Playhouse, which gives a special participatory preview to five performances in five locations across Leeds City centre presented as part of Light Night 2008. Local people can get involved in the performances.

People’s Record and Literature and Stories – Inspire mark projects led by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council - are both taking place across the region. (Details of all Inspire marks are below).

Major projects - Ten new, major cultural projects on a national scale covering all aspects of arts, culture and heritage from disability arts, film and theatre through to music heritage, and carnival. The major projects will have significant impact in the nations and regions throughout the four years and generate long-term benefit to the culture of the UK. They are summarised below:

• Artists Taking the Lead – 12 cutting edge artists’ commissions across the UK
• Stories of the World – a national network of exhibitions telling new stories in new ways
• Sounds – a four-project approach to celebrating music as a universal language
• Somewhereto – a project empowering young people to find somewhere to practice their sport and culture on their terms
• Discovering Places – opening up the historic and built environment to new audiences
• Film Nation – a programme designed to get young people behind the camera and explore their world and dreams
• World Shakespeare Festival – will celebrate Shakespeare as an international property and the British as an international people centring on exchange and collaboration
• Festival of Carnivals – five linked and themed street Carnivals in the Olympic period
• Unlimited – a sequence of local and national festivals and events devoted to work by disabled people in all art forms and all sports
• World Cultural Festival – an international arts festivals as the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad in 2012

The Cultural Olympiad is a partnership between the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), arts and cultural organisations across the UK, and London 2012 stakeholders. There is a Creative Programmer to curate a programme of activities in each nation and region of the United Kingdom. Tessa Gordziejko is the Creative Programmer for Yorkshire.

Sebastian Coe, Chair, LOCOG said: 'In our bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, our promise was and still is to make our Games accessible to everyone. To build on the vision of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the Modern Olympic movement, by having a Games that inextricably links sport, culture and education. Open Weekend and the cultural programme over the coming four years, shows our commitment to this.'

Jude Kelly, Chair, Culture, Ceremonies and Education, London 2012, said: 'Working together with this country’s great artists and institutions, we will ensure that we have a programme that will inspire participation, enable everyone to get involved and unleash the creative talents of young people across the whole of the UK.'

Tessa Gordziejko, Creative Programmer for London 2012 in Yorkshire said : 'The region’s cultural offer of attractions and experiences around the Games will stimulate people who live here and seduce tourists to visit. The region will be part of London 2012’s Cultural Olympiad, complementing activity in London whilst making our own unique contribution. Culture will add too to the way other opportunities are delivered, bringing an edge of creativity and surprise that makes the region stand out. We want people to look back at the journey from now and until the Games in 2012 as the most exciting era for culture Yorkshire and Humber has ever seen!'

LISTINGS

The Cultural Olympiad events and activities for Open Weekend 26 – 28 September 2008 across Yorkshire are listed below. Further details of Cultural Olympiad events, major projects and Inspire mark announcements will be announced soon and can be found here.

INSPIRE MARK PROJECTS

Night Lights
1 Sept to 10 Oct 2008
Night Lights, from the West Yorkshire Playhouse. The project comprises five performances in five locations across Leeds City centre presented as part of Light Night 2008. Each of the five works will be inspired by text, written in response to location theme. Pieces are performed by non-professional performers and active participants who will explore the location and be taught simple performance techniques. Each location will have an installation designed and created for it by a student from Leeds Metropolitan University.

Get involved: The West Yorkshire Playhouse is looking for people to be part of Light Night performance in Leeds on 10 October. Those interested in taking part should come to the Theatre, at Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7UP, on 27 September at 2.30pm. No experience is necessary – wear comfortable clothes and expected the unexpected. Everyone is welcome. The session is free and should end at 4.00pm. www.wyp.org.uk

People’s Record and Literature and Stories
People’s Record and Literature and Stories projects led by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council are taking place all across the England. The Literature and Storytelling project involves poetry writing workshops and a festival of storytelling, inspired by collections, giving young people an opportunity to learn from established poets and become writers and performers of poetry themselves. The People’s Record, which will be the first permanent archive of the experience of a host city, involves working with museums, libraries and archives and BBC Memoryshare to capture the journey and impact of hosting the games in the words of real people across the country.

Museum, Library and Archive activities are taking place across the region. Full details at: http://www.mla.gov.uk/programmes/settingthepace/Cultural_Olympiad

OPEN WEEKEND EVENTS IN YORKSHIRE, IN DATE ORDER:

Leeds Cultural Olympiad Launch Youth Dance Celebration
The Headrow Leeds LS1 3AD
26 September 7pm – 8.15pm
Admission : Free
Genre : Performing Arts
To celebrate the launch of the Cultural Olympiad, Leeds City Council will be showcasing work from Leeds and our Chinese partners. This will mark the start of a programme events leading up to the Olympics in 2012.
Performing groups include:
The Butterfly Girls from China
Dancing with Rhinos, created by Sharon Watson in conjunction with the Leeds Rhinos and the people of Leeds.
Northern Ballet Theatre, internationally acclaimed ballet company from Leeds.
Bennu Youth Dance, a Leeds based dance group working with the Breeze International Youth Festival and Phoenix Dance Theatre

City Moves
Centenary Square, Bradford City Centre, BD1 1HY
26 September-28 September 11.00am - 10.30pm
Admission: Free
Genre: Performing Arts
Centenary Square will be a mass of vibrancy and colour as Cirque Bijou mix a variety of disciplines to create a unique and highly visual show. Exploring the theme of movement a wide variety of dance, aerial, street theatre and rhythmic showcases from local and national artists will create a busy programme of celebration.
www.bradford.gov.uk

Beau Geste - Generate 2008
Sheffield City Centre Site - Devonshire Green, Devonshire Green Site, Devonshire Quarter, Sheffield, S1
26 September-27 September Friday 1.30 pm Saturday 11.00am & 1.00pm
Admission: Free
Genre: Performing Arts
Danceworks UK will open its autumn 08 season with 3 spectacular outdoor performances of Transports Exceptionnels by Dominique Boivin’s. Beau Geste – a playful love duet for one man and his 13 tonne digger accompanied by the dramatic voice of Maria Callas - suitable for all ages and all for FREE! Presented in partnership with Dance Umbrella and Sheffield City Council
www,danceworks.org.uk

The Grand Tour in York
Various locations, please visit website for details, www.thegrandtourinyork.org.uk
26 September-28 September
Admission: Free
Genre: Heritage, museums & galleries
Until January the National Gallery and York Art Gallery have set free some of the world’s most famous paintings in the streets of York. Masterpieces by great artists – from Caravaggio to Constable – compete for attention in the medieval city centre. Download a complete list and a map from www.thegrandtourinyork.org.uk
www.yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk

‘Arthur Wharton’ the first black professional football player
Various locations, please visit website, doncaster.gov.uk/Libraries
26 September
Admission: Free
Genre: Libraries & archives
The entertaining storyteller Alec Williams, utilising a Doncaster Schools Museums project loan, explores the life of Arthur Wharton, whose fascinating career as an accomplished sportsman and professional footballer and his work at Edlington Pit before his retirement brings local history to life for local school children.
doncaster.gov.uk/Libraries

Myths & Legends – stories from objects
Dales Countryside Museum, Dales Countryside Museum, Station Yard, Hawes, North Yorkshire DL8 3NT
26 September 10.00am - 12.00pm
Admission: Free, booking required.
Genre: Heritage, museums & galleries
Digi-stories – an introduction. Find out what a digi-story is and how you could create one using items from the Dales Countryside Museum collection as inspiration. Please call 01969 666210 to book a place.
www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/index/enjoying/dales_countryside_museum

Orbit: songs and stories from around the world
Batley Library, Market Place, Batley, WF17 5DA
27 September 2.00pm
Admission: Free to reserve tickets contact 01924 326021
Genre: Libraries & archives
Join us as we orbit the world through traditional stories and songs.
www.kirklees.gov.uk/events

The Terrace Open Day
The Terrace, Grantham Street, Lincoln, LN2 1BD
27 September 10.00am - 4.00pm
Admission: Free
Genre: Photography & Visual Arts
The Terrace will be open to members of the public to see what facilities exist for and how creative people and businesses operate here. There will be regular tours of the building during the day. Café/Bar open throughout the day. Building will have lights on during the evenings of 26 – 27 – and 28 Sept. Admission Free
www.ttcq.co.uk or www.theterracelincoln.blogspot.com

Royal Yachting Association (RYA)
2008 RYA Zone Sailing Championships – North Zone
Scaling Dam, Easington, Saltburn-by-the-sea, North Yorkshire, TS13 4TP
27 September
Admission: £28 for single handed boats. Entry online at www.ryaracingevents.org.uk closes on 17/9/08
Genre: Sport
Scaling Dam Sailing Club
The Zone Championships mark the end of the Junior racing season and is a selection event for those sailors wishing to be considered for winter squad training. Racing will be in Optimist, Topper and Windsurfers. Entry online at www.ryaracingevents.org.uk closes on 17/9/08.
Visit website for details www.rya.org.uk

Night Lights
West Yorkshire Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7UP
27 September 2.30pm - 4.00pm
Admission: Free
Genre: Performing Arts
Open Up, Light Up…Turn up. We are looking for people to be part of Light Night performance in Leeds on 10 October. Turn up at West Yorkshire Playhouse 2.30pm 27 September – to explore new performance territory. No experience necessary – wear comfortable clothes and expected the unexpected. Everyone welcome.
www.wyp.org.uk

BBC Yorkshire Open Day
BBC Leeds, BBC Broadcasting Centre, Unit 2, St Peter's Square, Leeds LS9 8AH
27 September, Please visit website for details, www.bbc.co.uk/openweekend
Admission: Free. To book a space on to a free BBC Tour please visit www.bbc.co.uk/openweekend or call the BBC Ticket line on 0370 901 1227 and quote the Open Up Weekend. Bookings will be taken from August 15th 2008.
Genre: Film, video & digital
On a tour of BBC Yorkshire you will get a chance to see into both our Radio Leeds and Look North studios. The tour will show you behind the scenes of our brand new building and give you a fascinating insight into the world of broadcasting with an opportunity to have a go at presenting the weather. All tours must be booked in advance. www.bbc.co.uk/openweekend

BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Open Day
BBC Hull, BBC Hull, Queens Court, Queens Gardens, Hull HU1 3RH
27 September, Throughout the day
Admission: Free. To book a space on to a free BBC Tour please visit www.bbc.co.uk/openweekend or call the BBC Ticket line on 0370 901 1227 and quote the Open Up Weekend. Bookings will be taken from August 15th 2008.
Genre: Film, video & digital
This tour will give you a fascinating insight into the world of broadcasting. You will see into the Look North Studio and get a chance to visit Radio Humberside and you never know who you may bump into along the way. The Open Centre will also be available. All tours must be pre-booked.
www.bbc.co.uk/openweekend

Myths & Legends – stories from objects
Dales Countryside Museum, Dales Countryside Museum, Station Yard, Hawes, North Yorkshire DL8 3NT
27 September 10.00am - 12.00pm
Admission: Free, booking required.
Genre: Heritage, museums & galleries
Storytelling and story writing – a family event, features stories created by Rhoda Fraser and gives you the chance to write your own story using items from the Dales Countryside Museum collection as inspiration.
www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/index/enjoying/dales_countryside_museum

Myths & Legends – stories from objects
Dales Countryside Museum, Dales Countryside Museum, Station Yard, Hawes, North Yorkshire DL8 3NT
28 September 10.00am - 12.00pm
Admission: Free, booking required.
Genre: Heritage, museums & galleries
Storytelling – family event featuring stories created by Rhoda Fraser and others, using items from the Dales Countryside Museum collection as inspiration.
www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/index/enjoying/dales_countryside_museum

-Ends-


Further launch information can be downloaded here. 

Creative Programmer, Yorkshire:

Tessa Gordziejko
0113 394 4579 tgordziejko@yorkshire-culture.co.uk

For media queries on the Cultural Olympiad:
 
William Kallaway, Kallaway, 020 7221 7883, will.kallaway@kallaway.co.uk
Emma Lawson, Kallaway, 020 7221 7883, emma.lawson@kallaway.co.uk

Rebecca Miller, Media Adviser Culture at LOCOG
0203 2012 251 Rebecca.Miller@london2012.com