REFLECTIONS ON THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD AND THE LONDON 2012 FESTIVAL 01 CONTENT INTRODUCTION BY TONY HALL Chair of Cultural Olympiad Board 02 ONCE IN A LIFETIME Summary of Cultural Olympiad 04 THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD AND LONDON 2012 FESTIVAL EVALUATION 18 Photo Credits: Inside front cover – Battle For The Winds ©Maisie Hill; Page 2 – Peace Camp © Paul Lindsay/Chris Hill Photographic; Page 5 – Piccadilly Circus Circus © Matthew Andrews; Page 6 – BBC Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend - Florence and the Machine 2012 © BBC/Getty Images; Page 8 – Creating The Spectacle! © Norman Lomax, Moving Content; Page 9 – Rio Occupations © Ellie Kurttz; Page 9 – Africa Express © Simon Phipps; Page 10 – Mittwoch Aus Licht Birmingham Opera © Helen Maybanks; Page 11 – Overworlds and Underworlds - the Brothers Quay and Leeds Canvas © Tom Arber; Page 12 – Big and Small ©Lisa Tomasetti ; Page 14 – Battle for theWinds © Kevin Clifford; Page 16 – Anna Terasa Tanks ©?; Page 18 – BBC Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend 2012 - Jay-Z © BBC/Getty Images; Page 20 – Much Ado About Nothing © Jillian Edelstein; Page 23 – Speed of Light © Sally Jubb; Page 28 – Richard III © Marc Brenner; Page 30 – Branches: The Nature of Crisis © Joel Fildes 02 REFLECTIONS ON THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD REFLECTIONS ON THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD AND THE LONDON 2012 FESTIVAL AND THE LONDON 2012 FESTIVAL 03 INTRODUCTION BY TONY HALL, CHAIR OF CULTURAL OLYMPIAD BOARD When London won the bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we promised that this ‘once in a lifetime’ event would include a great cultural programme involving people all over the UK. When we are asked why, we go back to the example of Ancient Greece, where the Olympic Games included artists alongside athletes. As recently as the London 1948 Games artists were still awarded medals. The London 2012 Festival gave great artists winning co-commissions with the National As the New York Times said of one of ‘ A programme ranging from round the world, including the UK, the Gallery which made up Metamorphosis our once in a lifetime events, from a bouncy castle chance to showcase their creativity. We Titian and the first concert by homeless Peace Camp: ‘in the unlikeliness of its Stonehenge to the had over 200 co-commissions in which people in any Cultural Olympiad. My existence and its poetic resonance – artists and partners were invited to create new colleagues at the BBC broke new the fruit of the infrequent marriage of biggest celebration of ‘once in a lifetime’ ideas, many large scale, ground with the 100,000 free tickets ample budget and unbounded imagination Shakespeare’s work many in unusual places and many offering for Radio 1’s Hackney Big Weekend, – Peace Camp was a perfect emblem undertaken is turning out free tickets or free opportunities to take part. two BAFTAs for films co-commissioned of what London 2012 was able to achieve’. to be a raging success, Our hope was that the cultural programme with London 2012, and BBC local radio (New York Times, 31 August 2012) with huge crowds, diverse would be a game changer – putting art ensuring UK-wide participation in Martin We all hope that the legacy will be audiences, revelatory Creed’s bell ringing world premiere. at the heart of the Games themselves, more chances to enjoy the fruit of that performances and global showcasing UK world class excellence with The London 2012 Festival took me infrequent marriage of ample budget media coverage.’ high economic stakes to play for cultural from Shetland to Margate, from Belfast and unbounded imagination. The Times, 7 August 2012 tourism and creative industries. to Cardiff, from Hadrian’s Wall to With over 20 million attendances to the Stonehenge, with countless other places Tony Hall, Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE London 2012 Festival, communities all over in between. I saw artists in fields, the UK participated with enthusiasm and boats, bell towers, beaches, castles, the majority have been inspired to carry ruins, parks, public squares and of on enjoying culture and creativity. For me, course, in theatres and museums. my past colleagues at the Royal Opera House created highlights like the award 04 REFLECTIONS ON THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD REFLECTIONS ON THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD AND THE LONDON 2012 FESTIVAL AND THE LONDON 2012 FESTIVAL 05 SUMMARY OF CULTURAL OLYMPIAD Once in a lifetime ‘ Not once in a lifetime – The Cultural Olympiad brought together a It offered some new models for the organisers of range of funding, arts, cultural, heritage, Olympic and Paralympic Games and other major even better’ local, international and sporting partners in an sporting events in the future. The Independent, 7 August 2012 exceptional grouping which produced a four year UK-wide cultural programme, with the finale There were over 43 million public experiences of of the London 2012 Festival, the largest UK-wide Cultural Olympiad events. Of these experiences, festival ever staged. 39.8 million were at free events and 5.9 million involved active creative participation. Over It promoted collaborations between arts 45,000 people volunteered, helping over organisations and their communities on a scale 177,000 events to take place in over 1,000 not seen previously, and had an impact round venues from the Shetland Islands in the north of the world. It co-commissioned the best artists the UK to the Scilly Isles in the south. from round the world, particularly showcasing UK artists, and co-commissioned them to create The London 2012 Festival saw public new work to rise to the challenge of a ‘Once in engagement of 20.2 million, of which 15.4 a Lifetime’ event. were free attendances. Over 25,000 artists took part of which 1,299 were emerging artists and For the UK, it offered some new ways of working 806 were Deaf and disabled artists. for arts, culture and creative industries, and some new models for the ongoing funders, particularly This piece attempts to summarise some of the most the Department for Cultural Media and Sport significant learning points. (DCMS) and Arts Councils. 06 REFLECTIONS ON THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD REFLECTIONS ON THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD AND THE LONDON 2012 FESTIVAL AND THE LONDON 2012 FESTIVAL 07 The London 2012 Festival built on these THERE WERE Skills development opportunities with projects that attempted to Many of the participative projects offered the offer communities the chance to work together 5.9 MILLION chance to test and develop skills, which with creatively and sometimes simultaneously all over PARTICIPANTS luck might lead people onto more formal the UK. The Cultural Olympiad ‘hit’, Big Dance, IN THE CULTURAL learning or training opportunities. But in addition, which had been pioneered in London, for the first the Cultural Olympiad offered more formal time rolled out a participative dance programme OLYMPIAD, skills development opportunities, with locally involving 5 million across the UK. On a smaller OF WHICH organised schemes in most of the scale, the Shetland Film Festival and a range of regions and nations. smaller rural cinemas and festivals round the UK 4.1 MILLION offered an innovative participative programme PARTICIPATED In the London 2012 Festival, BBC Radio 1’s to develop and share film making skills. Named IN THE LONDON Hackney Weekend was a flagship example after the Shetland word for gift, A Hansel of Film, 2012 FESTIVAL of a one-off programme offering exceptional created a new model which deserves future training chances for young people in the Host life. Artist Jeremy Deller’s simple participative Boroughs. Two other programmes also offered commission, Sacrilege, inspired communities great examples of legacy projects, starting in round the whole UK, and the British Council and the London 2012 Festival but now rolling out GREAT campaign have picked this up as a global ALL THE BELLS IN longer term. The Mayor of London’s creative model of UK creative excellence A COUNTRY RUNG apprenticeships enabled young people to enter paid apprenticeships hosted by London creative Special events such as the gift of Coldplay’s Viva AS QUICKLY AND industries; similarly the Creative Jobs Programme La Vida, which united 125,000 local musicians by Royal Opera House, CREATE, BP, Legacy Trust all over the UK in a Bandstand Marathon on the AS LOUDLY AS UK and Arts Council England, enabled 40 paid last day of the Paralympics, showed the potential POSSIBLE FOR apprenticeships in the Host Boroughs, which for inspiring communities to create work together. THREE MINUTES, created a model which Arts Council England is Perhaps the most quoted example however was now taking forward on a larger scale. Martin Creed’s Work no.1197: All the bells CREATED BY UK-wide TOTAL PUBLIC Participation in a country rung as quickly and as loudly as 2.9 MILLION possible for three minutes, created by 2.9 million Total public engagement of 43.4 million in There were 5.9 million participants in the Cultural ENGAGEMENT participants on the opening day of the Olympics. PARTICIPANTS ON the Cultural Olympiad UK-wide with 25.8 million Olympiad, of which 4.1 million participated in THE OPENING DAY outside London. OF 43.4 MILLION the London 2012 Festival. IN THE CULTURAL OF THE OLYMPICS The Cultural Olympiad engaged communities The Cultural Olympiad placed great emphasis all over the UK. This was an important benefit to OLYMPIAD on creating opportunities for young people and London 2012, and helped to involve communities UK-WIDE WITH community members of all ages to become active who felt themselves to be remote from other areas 25.8 MILLION participants in creative programmes, learning of London 2012 activity, such as the venues for and sharing new creative skills. Programmes the Games. During the London 2012 Festival OUTSIDE LONDON such as BP’s Open Weekend, BT’s Road to particularly, the large scale commissions and 2012, Panasonic’s Film Nation, the BBC’s Music special projects helped to create a sense of Nation, amongst many others, as well as the ‘once in a lifetime’ excitement which tuned in large scale learning programmes created by with the Games.