The Stage

Public say they are clueless about Cultural Olympiad

Published Tuesday 20 November 2007 at 16:10 by Alistair Smith

The vast majority of the public has no idea that a Cultural Olympiad is planned to run in advance of and alongside sporting events at London 2012, according to new research released by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

While 93% of respondents know London is to host the Olympics, only 15% are aware that there is to be an organised cultural offering as part of the games. This is even though there is less than a year to go before the Olympiad begins at the end of the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games in August 2008. The report also found the level of awareness was even lower outside London.

Although 63% of people want the event to have a legacy that is wider than sport, very few (11%) believe the Olympics will lead to an increased involvement in culture.

This makes it the most unpopular category of all the Olympics’ stated aims. In fact, according to the research, the Olympiad is perceived by the public as the least important section of the Olympics and the second least likely to be delivered. Only Great Britain’s stated aim to rise from tenth to fourth in the medal table was considered to have a lower probability of success.

The statistics were released this month by the DCMS as part of a poll by the British Market Research Bureau, for which more than 2,000 people were questioned.

Arts Council England has recently taken on responsibility for delivering a large portion of the Cultural Olympiad, after Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport James Purnell revealed that some of the recent increase in the arts council’s budget was to be directed to cultural programmes which associated with London 2012.

A spokesman for ACE said: “The 2012 Olympics is a fantastic opportunity for arts and culture in this country and the Cultural Olympiad will be at the heart of this.

“We’re confident that a successful and memorable Cultural Olympiad will be delivered, and look forward to public awareness of and enthusiasm for the Olympiad growing as plans take shape over the coming months.”