The launch of the Cultural Olympiad on the 27th and 28th September, marked the beginning of four years of events, activities and projects designed to integrate the cultural aspects of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games into a single programme.

From now until the start of the Games in 2012, there will be a series of events which the public can become involved with or initiate themselves.

The aim of the programme is to:

• inspire and involve the widest range of London and UK-wide communities;
• generate sustainable long-term benefits to our cultural life;
• create outstanding moments of creative excellence across the full range of performing arts and creative industries;
• connect future generations with the UK’s artistic communities and with their peers around the world;
• promote contemporary London as a major world cultural capital;
• drive tourism and inward investment and use the creative industries to boost economic regeneration; and
• embrace the Olympic movement values of ‘excellence, respect and friendship’ and the Paralympic movement vision to ‘empower, achieve, inspire’.

The Cultural Olympiad is for everyone. It will:

• celebrate London and the whole of the UK welcoming the world – our unique internationalism, cultural diversity, sharing and understanding;
• inspire and involve young people; and
• generate a positive legacy – for example through cultural and sports participation, audience development, cultural skills, capacity building, urban regeneration, tourism and social cohesion and international links.

The Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will leave a powerful cultural legacy across the UK.

The Cultural Olympiad will create a buzz around the UK that will last long after the Flame is extinguished at the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympic Games, on 9 September 2012.

The benefits that the Cultural Olympiad will hope to bring are:

• a new awareness of cultural activity around the whole of the UK;
• new ways to get involved, new projects to get involved in;
• more people taking part in cultural activity within their local community; and
• new partnerships in the cultural sector and around the world.

For more information on the Cultural Olympiad and how you can get involved log onto: http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/cultural-olympiad/index.php  

Contact details

For further information about the application process contact:

Liz Hughes, Creative Programmer - East of England for London 2012 liz.hughes@goeast.gsi.gov.uk 01223 372683 or 07875 708018