London is the Host City, but the 2012 Games belong to – and will benefit - the whole UK. As part of the Cultural Olympiad we are creating a UK-wide festival celebrating the diverse cultures across the UK. It will start over the weekend of 26-28 September 2008 and run right through to the end of the Games.

The Cultural Olympiad values are to:

• welcome the world;
• inspire and involve young people; and
• leave a lasting and positive legacy.

You could be part of it. We want our programme to feature a mix of projects in which a whole range of communities are taking part. Large or small, we are looking for inspirational ideas from all sorts of people - surprising, exciting, brand new projects, events or activities inspired by 2012.

This is an entirely new scheme, not tried at previous Olympic or Paralypmic Games, so we have to start with just a small number of projects or events. We will be selecting carefully to make sure we get a good balance across every nation and region of the UK.

If your project is successful, it will be granted the right to use the ‘Inspire mark’ on various project materials, such as posters, brochures and website. (This will be subject to our standard licence agreement being signed and approval processes being followed.) The Inspire mark is part of the London 2012 brand family. It recognises that a project has been ‘inspired by London 2012’ and reflects the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements.

There are some criteria which your proposed project or event has to meet in order to be eligible for selection:

• Only organisations can apply (i.e. not individuals).
• The scheme is predominantly for projects which have entirely non-commercial funding.
• Your project or event must start after 25 August 2008 and before 9 September 2012.
• Your project must be primarily cultural.
• Your project must meet all three core values of the Cultural Olympiad.
• Your project must address at least three of the seven themes of the Cultural Olympiad.
• Your project must be inspired by London 2012 and not an existing piece of work – it needs to be different from what you normally do, taking bold, new steps forward.

Please note, the London 2012 Organising Committee is not a funding body. You should have sorted out all or most of the funding you need for your project before you put in an application to us.

If, having read all this, you would like to put an idea forward, you need to speak to your local Creative Programmer. There is one for every region of England and devolved nation of the UK. You can email them using the links below:

Scotland: Scotland Creative Programmer

Northern Ireland: Pat Wilson

Wales: Gwyn Williams

North-West: Debbi Lander

North-East: Lorna Fulton

Yorkshire: Tessa Gordziejko

West Midlands: Paul Kaynes

East Midlands: Paul Brookes

East: Liz Hughes

South-East: Caterina Loriggio

South-West: Richard Crowe

London – Five Host Boroughs: Hadrian Garrard

London – Sarah Barnwell

We are working in partnership with Arts & Business across the UK on a series of workshops for organisations in the creative and cultural sector wanting to apply for the Inspire mark. Watch this space for details.