London 2012 announced Thursday its plans for the Cultural Olympiad while a new poll has been released on the 2012 Games.
The Cultural Olympiad is a four-year program which showcases Britain’s arts and culture to the rest of the world ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, and will be launched September 26-28.
More than 500 events will take place across Britain as part of the Open Weekend program with 160 organizations reportedly giving the public an opportunity to participate in something that would normally take place behind the scenes. The weekend is designed to give people a preview of the depth of talent and creativity Britain has to offer.
There will be ten major projects in the next four years, each fulfilling a commitment that the London 2012 Games will involve and inspire everyone in Britain and across the world.
The program also includes projects that have been awarded the Inspiremark, recognizing the quality and diversity of the work done by large and small organizations around the country. It’s considered a first for any Olympic organizing committee and could lead the way for other host cities to adopt this national and inclusive approach, reports Xinhua.
Sebastian Coe, chair of LOCOG said, “in our bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 our promise was and still is to make our Games accessible to everyone. Open Weekend and the cultural program over the coming four years shows our commitment to this”.
Meanwhile a new poll by Opinium Research that questioned 2,000 British adults before and after the Beijing Games shows that almost half of the respondents now feel much more excited about hosting the 2012 Games while only 11 per cent said the Government was up to running the project.
Nearly two-thirds feel proud of Britain because of its performance at the Olympics in Beijing, and almost half now feel much more excited about hosting the Games. However the biggest concern is over the budget. Only 12 per cent expect that the Games will come in on budget or within 10 per cent.
Mark Hodson, head of research at Opinium said, “the Beijing Olympics has ignited people’s enthusiasm for 2012, mostly due to the amazing success of our medial-winning athletes. However, people continue to have major concerns. Nearly a third of Brits still think that the Games will not provide any long-term benefits to the UK, and taxpayers’ money spent on the 2012 Olympics would be better spent on other things such as the NHS, transport and infrastructure”.
