LOCOG and the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Board appoint new Director of Culture

Portrait images of Ruth are available to download here.

Ruth Mackenzie is currently an expert adviser on broadcasting and cultural policy for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. She was seconded to the Department by the Manchester International Festival where she was appointed the first General Director in 2006. She was previously Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre from 2002-06, General Director, Scottish Opera 1997-99 and Executive Director, Nottingham Playhouse 1990-97. She has also worked on a consultancy basis for the Barbican Centre, Tate, BBC, London Symphony Orchestra and Young Vic and she was Head of Strategic Planning for the Southbank Centre 1986-90. She was special adviser to two Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Chris Smith and Tessa Jowell 1999-2002. She has advised the Vienna Festival as a consultant dramaturg since 2007 and she is Visiting Professor for Cultural Leadership at the City University. She was awarded an OBE for her services to the theatre in 1995.

Along with the appointment of Ruth Mackenzie LOCOG today announces further leading artistic appointments, who will continue in their current roles, to LOCOG Culture Team as artistic advisors.

Martin Duncan was joint Artistic Director of the Chichester Festival
Theatre with Ruth Mackenzie and Steven Pimlott from 2002-05 and
Artistic Director of the Nottingham Playhouse. He is a distinguished
international freelance theatre and opera director working currently
for the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo.

Craig Hassall has many years experience in the performing arts, having worked in theatre, opera, dance and festivals. He was responsible for the successful delivery of Sydney's Olympic cultural celebrations leading up to the 2000 Olympic Games. He oversaw a four year cultural programme which culminated in the largest celebration of the arts ever seen in Australia. Craig also oversaw the brand portfolio for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. He moved to London in 2005 and is now the managing director of English National Ballet, a position he will retain whilst helping deliver London's Olympic cultural events.

Sir Brian McMaster was Director of the Edinburgh International Festival 1991- 2006, the longest serving Director since the Festival began in 1947 and prior to this he was Managing Director at the Welsh National Opera 1976-91. He was author of the policy review ‘Supporting Excellence in the Arts - From Measurement to Judgement’ for the government.

Alex Poots is Director of Manchester International Festival, which he conceived in 2004 as the world's first festival of original, new work and special events. Prior to that, he programmed the Tate Gallery's first live event series and co-created 'only connect' for the Barbican, as well as launching and programming the music series at Somerset House. He was Executive Producer for the BBC's Summer Screens featuring the World Cup and Golden Jubilee and for Channel 4's Caribbean and Indian Summers.

The Cultural Olympiad, which began in 2008, is a major engagement programme for London 2012. It will enable people, especially young people, around the UK to experience London 2012 in their town or street and to increase participation and capacity in cultural activity. In summer 2009 the LOCOG Culture Team secured a grant of £16m for the Cultural Olympiad from the Olympic Lottery Distributor, using National Lottery funds. Legacy Trust UK is also investing the majority of its £40 million grant funding in cultural projects linked to the London 20120 Games.  In addition, BP and BT have been confirmed as Premier Partners of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Currently there are almost 150 Cultural Olympiad Inspire Projects registered across the UK, and Open Weekend in July 2008 and 2009 has seen over 1 million people take part in events across around UK.

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Board was established in the autumn of last year and gives strategic direction and oversight to the programme. Its Chair, Tony Hall, is also a member of the LOCOG Board.

Announcing the appointment today Tony said: “This appointment means leadership plus teamwork. The Cultural Olympiad will move forward under Ruth Mackenzie’s expert guidance, and she will be supported by four people who know all there is to know about putting a celebration like this together, both creatively and administratively. I’m very excited about what this team under Ruth will deliver."

Ruth Mackenzie said: “I am delighted to be taking up this role and I am looking forward to working with the board, the LOCOG Culture Team and the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad funding partners in addition to such an outstanding team of artistic and administrative advisers. Our first task will be to do an audit of the existing plans and make recommendations to the Board on the vision and timetable for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. We aim to announce our initial plans in a few months time.”

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: “This is the final piece in the jigsaw of a project that now has the best possible level of governance in the Cultural Olympiad Board, a strong team here at LOCOG, significant funding in place through the Olympic Lottery Distributor and further partners, and projects being developed in conjunction with key partners across the arts and culture sector. I’m thrilled that we have such strong artistic talent on board, and I know Ruth and the team deliver a truly special Cultural Olympiad.”

Bill Morris, Director of Culture, Ceremonies, Education and Live Sites, LOCOG said: “I’m thrilled that such an outstanding pool of talent is joining the current team and can build on the existing foundations to mount a cultural festival that will do justice to London and the UK’s cultural sector and form a highlight of London 2012.”

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London said: ”For arts and culture London is second to none and 2012 gives us an amazing opportunity to showcase the wealth of ideas and talent in the capital and across the country. This is a strong team, which I hope will rise to the challenge in taking forward the Cultural Olympiad and the need to get everyone excited and involved.”

Tessa Jowell, Minister for the Olympics, said: “I’ve worked with Ruth Mackenzie over a number of years, and I am delighted that she’s now bringing her great experience and standing in the cultural and artistic sector to the Olympics.

“The calibre of expertise now working on the Cultural Olympiad is a reflection of how important it is to London 2012 and the tremendous opportunity it provides the cultural sector. I look forward to seeing how under their guidance, all the different disciplines come together to create an unforgettable festival of culture.”

Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad offers a brilliant opportunity for us to show off to the world why this country is an international cultural centre.  Ruth Mackenzie has a terrific record of working on big events in the arts and I am thrilled that she has been appointed.  I look forward to seeing how she delivers the results we all want to see for this great event.”

Alan Davey, Chief Executive of the Arts Council England said: “This is a fantastic set of appointments which will enable the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad to be a truly amazing and a world class cultural festival, capturing the spirit of the Olympic ideals.”

Janet Paraskeva, Chair of the Olympic Lottery Distributor, said: “As a major funder of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad we are really pleased that LOCOG and the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Board have appointed an experienced artistic director as at the helm. We look forward to working closely with Ruth and her team.”

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Notes to editors: 

London 2012 Cultural Olympiad

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is a national celebration of culture which is happening now and is about:

• Giving everyone in the country a chance to be part of London 2012
• Bringing sport and art together on a scale that has never been done before
• Using the power of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially amongst young people.
• Making a real impact which will leave a lasting legacy well beyond 2012
• BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad.

As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are six domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twelve domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, Crystal CG, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, GSK, Holiday Inn, McCann Worldgroup, The Nielsen Company, Populous, Ticketmaster and Trident.

The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos Origin, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Visa.