For immediate release, Sunday 20th April 2008
Legacy Trust UK Approve Proposals for 2012 Olympic Celebrations in the North East
To encourage participation 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 North East region.
The Generation 2012 programme lead by Culture North East, the regional cultural consortium, will encourage diverse groups of young people in the community to get involved in cultural activities. Everyone, from groups of skateboarders, to table tennis teams, to people who collect Harry Potter cards will be encouraged to approach their activities in innovative new ways.
Olivia Grant OBE DL, Chair of Culture North East, said, “The Legacy Trust programme in our region will present real opportunities for young people from all backgrounds to shape their engagement with the 2012 Games and its Cultural Olympiad. This 2012 generation will, for the first time, be empowered to demonstrate their creative potential and enthuse their wider communities to fulfil their own creative ambitions. I am delighted that Legacy Trust UK have approved our proposal and I look forward to working with them in developing our business plan.”
Tanya Gray, Sport Specialist Advisor at One NorthEast, said: "This is a tremendous boost for the North East as it will encourage young people in the region to fully engage with London 2012 and the Cultural Olympiad. I look forward to seeing the projects progress in the coming years."
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.
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For further UK wide information please contact Moira Swinbank, LTUK, CEO on 07740 422673 www.legacytrustuk.com.
Contact for North East:
Lorna Fulton
Creative Programmer North East
London 2012
Culture North East
Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4WH | UK
e: lorna.fulton@gone.gsi.gov.uk
t: 0191 202 3785
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.