The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad was the largest celebration of art and culture that the UK had ever seen. It gave everyone the chance to be part of the celebrations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and inspired creativity across all forms of culture. Our ambitious programme reached every part of the East of England and ranged in scale from events in back gardens to the transformation of three miles of coastline. Over the four years of the Cultural Olympiad
2.5 million
people in the East of England got involved in which created
4,895 activities (events, performances and
exhibition days) and
3,148 workshops, which provided further
learning opportunities for
141,020 people. In total the
programme was worth over investment of over England and
101 projects,
£10.7 million, including
£4.5 million from Arts Council
£1.5 million from Legacy Trust UK.
For twelve weeks the London 2012 Festival, the finale of the Cultural Olympiad, brought together leading artists from across the world. Over twenty projects, developed and delivered by our cultural organisations, brought artists to the East of England from six continents: Visionary American artist Robert Wilson created Walking, three miles of installations on the north Norfolk coast, produced by the Norfolk & Norwich Festival Australian Circa’s contemporary circus was fused with I Fagiolini’s sacred music in How Like An Angel, and toured to cathedrals by the Norfolk & Norwich Festival
“... in what must be the great localarts coup of the year, the Norfolk & Norwich Festival has persuaded Robert Wilson to do Walking on the glorious bird infested marshes at Holkham.” The Sunday Times “It’s an experience which dazzles our senses and allows our imaginations to run riot.” East Anglian Daily Times on The Crash of the Elysium
A Brazilian carnival artist worked with over 500 performers from five towns to create Carnival Crossroads Eastbound, devised by the UK Centre for Carnival Arts The South African Bambanani artist-activists and UK artist Rachel Gadsden’s Unlimited Global Alchemy was inspired by a work at the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology in Cambridge Remarkable treasures from East Asia were presented at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and Colchester Castle as part of Eastern Exchanges Aldeburgh Music used YouTube to audition the Aldeburgh World Orchestra, bringing 121 players from 35 countries and six continents to Snape in Suffolk
The Cultural Olympiad enabled people to take part in projects, including thousands of free opportunities to join in. Pacitti Company created On Landguard Point, a film about home, made with 1,000 local people in front of the camera and 1,000 behind the camera, in a project that reached 14,000 overall Dr Who landed in Ipswich where 9,000 people helped him save the world in The Crash of the Elysium, presented by the New Wolsey Theatre
Giants walked in Essex where the Sparks Will Fly programme included over 9,000 performers, and reached over 100,000 people at events across the county with a spectacular finale in Hylands Park Almost 2,500 people bounced on Jeremy Deller’s inflatable Stonehenge, Sacrilege, in Peterborough and Southendon-Sea
Live Art Collective East took eight new commissions to beach huts, cafés, forest glades and shopping centres
“I haven’t got words to describe that!” 7-year-old audience member, Sparks Will Fly “On Landguard Point has enabled a number of new opportunities, including our first permanent exhibition which, alongside the film and our new premises, provides us with a significant legacy to engage new audiences beyond this extraordinary year.” Robert Pacitti, artist
Over four years the Cultural Olympiad “A landmark show… The cultural celebrations around the programme also included hundreds the most intelligently London 2012 Games: of Open Weekend events, 70 conceived exhibition brought the best of international projects recognised with the London of ancient Chinese and British art and culture to new 2012 Inspire Mark and celebrations art within living places and audiences in the East created for the Olympic Torch Relay memory” and Paralympic Flame. New York Times/ created an imaginative and International Herald Tribune ambitious programme that built The Cultural Olympiad has raised on The Search for Immortality our cultural sector’s capacity and awareness of the East’s outstanding individuals’ skills cultural sector and has given people unparalleled opportunities to connect were an unprecedented and “This has changed to something global. international showcase for our my life.” extraordinary cultural sector Participant in Team East for Skills training course
Photographs: Front cover, top to bottom: The Crash of the Elysium. Photo: Mike Kwasniak How Like An Angel. Photo: Chris Taylor On Landguard Point. Photo: Pacitti Company Inside spread, clockwise from top-left: Walking. Photo: Chris Taylor Waterlitz. Photo: Jean-Pierre Estournet Sparks Will Fly finale in Chelmsford. Photo: Nick Strugnell Sacrilege in Southend-on-Sea. Godiva Awakes in Waltham Abbey. Around the World in Eighty Objects, Eastern Exchanges. Photo: Luton Culture Three Step Endeavour. Photo: Holly Darton Choir of 2,000 people sing Anthem in Southend-on-Sea. Photo: Metal Culture Olympic Medals: Gold Silver and Bronze, Eastern Exchanges. Photo: Norwich Castle and Hamlet Centre Exchanging Worlds Ensemble at Latitude Festival, Aldeburgh World Orchestra. Photo: Marc Sethi Search for Immortality, Eastern Exchanges. Photo: Fitzwilliam Museum Back cover, top to bottom: Carnival Crossroads Eastbound. Photo: Steve Bainbridge Walking. Photo: Ben Johnson
A fuller report compiling information on the London 2012 Festival and Cultural Olympiad in the East of England can be downloaded from www.artscouncil.org.uk Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor are proud to be Principal Funders and supporter of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival. BP and BT are delighted to be Premier Partners of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Arts Council England 14 Great Peter Street London SW1P 3NQ www.artscouncil.org.uk Email: enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk Phone: 0845 300 6200 Textphone: 020 7973 6564 Charity registration no 1036733 You can get this publication in Braille, in large print, on audio CD and in electronic formats. Please contact us if you need any of these formats. To download this publication or for the full list of Arts Council England publications, see www.artscouncil.org.uk
Premier Partners of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad
Š Arts Council England, September 2012 Principal Funders of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad