From Music Nation in Derby to Global Footprints in Northamptonshire and AfterGold in Loughborough to Lionheart Project in Lincolnshire and Let’s Dance in Leicester, through to the finalé of World Event Young Artists in Nottingham and the closing production of Games Time at Derby Festé – the East Midlands comes together to show just why there is so much to be proud of across its six counties.

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme in the East Midlands is being unveiled today at the Primary, a new arts venue in Nottingham, which will include a performance by Leicester based street dance company Addict, recent stars of TV’s Got to Dance. The programme has been inspired by the staging of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and is the result of a partnership between Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and London 2012. Legacy Trust UK is an independent charity set up to create a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from London 2012 in communities across the UK.

Too often the East Midlands has been characterised as an essentially nice but boring part of the country, with little that happens to attract attention and with little aspiration to organise or attract big cultural events. In 2008 a plan was hatched to try and transform these perceptions. Legacy Trust UK gave £1.61 million of support to Igniting Ambition, a 4 year programme of events for the Cultural Olympiad which would show just why people should sit up and notice the unique cultural strengths of the region.

Paul Brookes, the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad representative for the East Midlands, explains: “Ten years ago none of the cities in the region made a bid for the European Capital of Culture designation, which was eventually awarded to Liverpool. The East Midlands was the only region in the UK without a single city coming forward. Yet the last decade has seen an impressive number of new cultural venues open around the region. It was time to create a festival programme that reflected the new buzzing creativity of its different localities.

“The journey began with establishing a number of key partnerships. With the support of Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), our Igniting Ambition programme helped the development and delivery of the Derby Festé in 2008, establishing it as an annual outdoor arts festival.

“In 2012 the whole region is coming together to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games. There are many great events in the coming months and concluding with the internationally significant World Event Young Artists in Nottingham, bringing over 1,000 artists and delegates from around the world together for a ten day conference and festival programme.”

Besides Igniting Ambition’s and its sister programme, Creative Innovation, this year’s activities include major contributions from other strands of the Cultural Olympiad , including Artists Taking the Lead, Unlimited, Stories of the World, Community Celebration. As well as projects that are part of the Inspire programme and the London 2012 Festival - the spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration from 21 June and running until 9 September 2012 bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK.

This year’s Cultural Olympiad programme has attracted considerable investment from outside the region, securing £2.5 million from Arts Council England, £950k from Legacy Trust UK and £160k from the ERDF.

Peter Knott, Regional Director of Arts Council England, said:
“The Olympic year promises to be an unprecedented 12 months for the arts and culture in England. It will be a year like no other, a national celebration in which we can be confident that the talent and creativity of the East Midlands will sparkle.

“We are very proud of what has been achieved in a programme that has had three key values at its core: inspiring and involving young people; celebrating international understanding and cultural diversity; and leaving a positive legacy after 2012. We are confident that audiences everywhere, from towns such as Skegness, Corby, Loughborough and Matlock or cities such as Derby, Leicester, Lincoln and Nottingham will have the chance to participate and experience great art and entertainment and be part of the shared memories that will live on well beyond 2012.”

Moira Swinbank, Chief Executive of Legacy Trust UK, said:
“Since 2008 we have funded a wide range of cultural projects in the East Midlands and across the UK as part of the Cultural Olympiad; the cultural celebrations of London 2012.

“As a Principal Funder of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival we are delighted at the wealth of creative opportunities on offer in the East Midlands this year.
“But the impact from this programme does not end in 2012. We are working to ensure that people continue to benefit from the fantastic cultural opportunities London 2012 has brought to the East Midlands.”

Under the banner of Power of the Flame, which is one of Wales’ contribution to the Cultural Olympiad, Disability Arts Cymru entered upon the most amazing venture, engaging with young disabled actors, dancers, visual artists, musicians and writers across Wales.

Breaking the Wall, a new composition by the wonderfully talented young composer Lloyd Coleman is a 35 minute work composed for a full symphony orchestra. This project celebrates the Cultural Olympiad in Wales and will culminate in a public performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at St David’s Hall on Sunday 4 March.

Disability Arts Cymru commissioned Lloyd to compose the music and have supported his development as part of their partnership with UCAN productions, working with blind and visually impaired young people across Wales. Lloyd, aged 19, is a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London and his remarkable talents prove that visual impairment is no barrier to success.

Lloyd’s composition has been two years in the making. He has written the music for a symphony orchestra in three movements, which will take the Greek legend of Pheidippides as its main inspiration. Pheidippides achieved the astonishing feat of running over 150 miles in two days (across the tough, rocky terrain of Greece) in order to summon help in the battle against the Persians threatening to invade at Marathon. Thanks to Pheidippides’ call to arms, the Greek army was strengthened and triumphantly defeated the Persians. Pheidippides’ heroic feat of achieving his seemingly impossible task saved Greece from invasion and changed the course of history forever. There are parallels to be drawn between his achievements and those of people with a disability of some kind, who in their everyday lives overcome the odds which can be stacked against them.

Larry Ashmore, a composer and orchestrator who has worked on films such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and The Passion of the Christ in his career, is mentoring Lloyd musically, whilst Giles Abbott, a storyteller and poet and UCAN Members have been working very hard on a narrative and a creative movement piece to accompany Lloyd’s music.

Speaking ahead of his performance, composer Lloyd Coleman said:
“My idea was to have a narrative around the Greek athlete Pheidippides, who ran something like 150 miles in two days to summon more support to stop invaders taking over their territory. This will also make it more relevant to the Olympics and I see it as being a piece with an overall metaphor of how everyone can achieve their dreams.
"When it's played it will be just tremendous. It will be the highlight of my career to date and I hope it will inspire, create a bit of noise and show disabled and able-bodied people that disability is not a barrier to success."

Maggie Hampton, Director of Disability Arts Cymru added:
“Breaking the Wall has the highest of ambitions: that is to completely change common misconceptions about disability through the medium of art. Both disabled and non-disabled people will have something to take from it. Its core message will be that a disability need not be a barrier to success. With a positive mindset, there is no limit to the greatest of achievements. Almost anything is possible.”

Arts Council of Wales is proud to be the lead partner in the delivery of the Cultural Olympiad in Wales. Power of the Flame, a Wales wide project has been funded by Legacy Trust UK, creating a lasting impact from the London 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games by funding ideas and local talent to inspire creativity across the UK.

This is not only about 2012. It’s about what comes after. What is being done by Wales to celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games through Culture in 2012 is also being done for the future. This will be our legacy.  Power of the Flame brings cultural and heritage projects together as part of the Cultural Olympiad and will showcase their activities over the next 12 months across the whole of Wales. For more information visit the Power of the Flame website.
 

At 1pm on 18 May 2012 - the day the Olympic Torch arrives in the UK – thousands of schoolchildren in the UK and across the world will join together to take part in a world-record breaking dance, created especially for them by Wayne McGregor with an original score, Céleste,  by Scanner and Joel Cadbury.



The Record Attempt is a worldwide warm-up for Big Dance 2012, which is to run from 7-15 July 2012 and is part of the London 2012 Festival With the support of the British Council, the dance will take place simultaneously in over 1,000 schools throughout the UK and across Europe, USA, South America, South-East Asia, the Middle East and the Far East. Each school will learn the same piece of choreography created by Wayne McGregor which is available to download from the Big Dance website now at www.bigdance2012.com.

The current world record for the largest simultaneous multi venue dance is held by the Netherlands, with 1,472 locations and 264,188 people dancing.

Big Dance is one of the world’s biggest and most influential dance festivals, and this year it is one of the highlights of London 2012 Festival, the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad. In 2012, there will be events across the whole country, building up to Big Dance Week from 7 – 15 July.

The programme will feature dance in the streets, in theatres and schools and right into the heart of communities all over the country. The UK’s leading choreographers are taking part, including Wayne McGregor, who will create the centrepiece of Big Dance: a mass dance for over 1,000 dancers in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 14 July. Channel 4 will broadcast a series of specially commissioned new films made in partnership with BAFTA and Big Dance, showcasing young choreographic and directing talent.

Big Dance in London has been funded by Legacy Trust UK, creating a lasting impact from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by funding ideas and local talent to inspire creativity across the UK. The programme is delivered by the Mayor of London, Arts Council England and Foundation for Community Dance with a network of Big Dance Hubs, leading dance organisations around the UK.