Embargoed: 12 midnight, Sunday 20th April 2008

Legacy Trust UK Approve Proposals for 2012 Olympic Celebrations in East Midlands

To ignite ambition in the East Midlands and to celebrate the hosting of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games the Legacy Trust UK has approved an outline proposal for a range of activities and events across the region.

Culture East Midlands will lead on driving a series of partnerships which create each year a different showcase festival, before culminating in 2012 in a unique, region-wide, festival of cultural events provisionally entitled The East Midlands Great Exhibition. The Great Exhibition will be held over a five-month period, May-September 2012, incorporating arts and media, heritage, science, sports and well-being activities. The region will welcome the world to this Great Exhibition both through local involvement and through active promotion to visitors, domestic and overseas. Four annual showcases will precede the Great Exhibition, including a cultural festival programme to accompany the 2009 UK Special Olympics in Leicester.

Patricia Coleman, Chair of Culture East Midlands, said: “We welcome the support of the Legacy Trust UK. They will be the first major funder of our ambitious programme of festival events, as part of the East Midlands’ contribution to the UK Cultural Olympiad and for our longer-term plans beyond 2012.”

At the board meeting on 19th March, Legacy Trust UK ¹ approved outline proposals for the use of its allocated funding (approximately 50% of the total endowment) to eleven ² of the twelve nations and regions. This funding is approved to enable each area to work up a detailed business plan working in partnership to deliver programmes including culture, knowledge, sport and well-being leaving a lasting legacy in communities as a result of London 2012.

Dugald Mackie, Chair of Board of Legacy Trust UK, said, “ Legacy Trust UK has allocated funds to each region and country of the UK to develop and support innovative and exciting projects in communities embracing the values of the 2012 Games. The outline proposals so far submitted are inspirational and certainly fit the bill. We look forward to working with each nation and region to make these projects a reality and to leave a lasting legacy throughout the UK.”

It is intended that Legacy Trust UK funds will act as a catalyst for activities which will attract other funding and ensure a truly UK wide experience of the Olympic and Paralympic Games by building on and strengthening existing partnerships and joining sport and culture in new and innovative activities.

The strategy to allocate funding through the Regional Cultural Consortia in England and Government, Arts and Sports organisations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is to ensure that there is UK wide funding and activity in support of London 2012. The funding is roughly allocated with the following split – Culture 70% and Sport 30%.

Each nation and regions has chosen a theme under which to develop a programme of activities that will leave a legacy of the 2012 Games in communities throughout the UK. The themes range from ‘Moving Together’ a programme to encourage mass community participation in sport, cultural activity and dance in the West Midlands to ‘The Power of the Flame in Wales’, using the arts to develop capacity in communities and ‘i move.^·. i am’’ - a four year exploration of the moving body across all cultural forms, sports and science which aims to transform the way people feel and think about their moving bodies in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Each nation and region has until mid June to submit a detailed business plan showing what activities will be delivered, who will be involved and how this will leave a lasting legacy in communities throughout the UK.

They have also identified additional funding and in kind support to help realise the ambition of doubling the size of the endowment to £80 million.

Ends

For further UK wide information please contact Moira Swinbank, LTUK, CEO on 07740 422673 www.legacytrustuk.com.

East Midlands contact:

Paul Brookes
Creative Programmer 2012 Games, East Midlands
Culture East Midlands
c/o EMDA
Apex Court
City Link
Nottingham NG2 4LA
t: 0115 988 8577

1) Legacy Trust UK has been established as a charitable trust to use funding endowed by the Big Lottery Fund, Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The total endowment is £40million with £6million ring fenced for the UK Schools Games
2) Scotland is working to a longer timetable taking account of the Commonwealth Games too and will submit the outline proposal shortly.