ABSTRACT
By the time of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games it will be exactly a hundred years since the first official presentation of an Olympic cultural programme. London has placed a strong emphasis on its cultural and creative narrative since the bid stage, building on its reputation as a ‘creative city’ (Landry, 2005) and a world leading centre for the cultural and creative industries. London has also been keen to claim that the Games will leave a long-lasting legacy, not only for the host city – and its East End in particular – but for the rest of the UK. The UKwide dimensions of the legacy have often been articulated in cultural terms, with a focus on commitment to a national cultural programme as well as the expected national torch relay celebration. Some of the central claims of London’s cultural programme – the Cultural Olympiad – are a promise to use culture and the arts to expand engagement from young people and help overcome barriers to participation for people with disability. Advancing the engagement of the youth and disabled people are two central commitments from the 2012 Games at large; by promising that the Cultural Olympiad will expand opportunities at a national level, London is positioning the programme as an essential Games component to fulfil its inclusion promises. Attempting to present a strong cultural narrative for the Games is not a new endeavour. However, most Games editions have struggled to position their official cultural programme as central to the Games experience due to ongoing tensions in terms of media profile, sponsorship and branding regulations, let alone a challenging sense of rivalry between the sports and arts agendas of key stakeholders. This chapter provides a reflection of London’s experience of bidding for, designing, promoting and managing its Cultural Olympiad in a context of heightened expectations about the host’s cultural offer. London’s cultural proposal was built on the unique positioning of the city and the UK as a leading hub for the cultural and creative industries worldwide, and on the expectation by national and international stakeholders that the Games should benefit from such cultural reputation as well as contribute to its long-term sustainability. The chapter also offers some reflection on the relationship between the Cultural Olympiad and the torch relay as the most iconic programme dedicated to nationwide involvement within the Games.
