National Lottery free giveaways

The National Lottery will be giving away cinema tickets as part of events to mark 10 years of the draw.

A number of visitor attractions, which have received lottery funding, will also be open to the public for free.

Activities across the country will culminate with the first National Lottery Day on 6 November.

Since its launch in 1994 the lottery has raised £15bn for 160,000 "good cause" projects in areas such as sport, the arts and social welfare.

Each of the areas that distribute lottery ticket money will have offers to showcase its projects.

They include the Eden Project, which received funds via the Millennium Commission, museums supported by UK Heritage and welfare projects helped by the New Opportunities Fund.

Film success

The projects also include British films that have done well on both sides of the Atlantic.

Bend it Like Beckham, about an Asian teenager who has to overcome her family's opposition to her playing in a football team, was given £945,000 of lottery money towards its production and went on to make £39.5m.

The National Lottery is a great British success story, and it's all thanks to our players Dianne Thompson, Camelot chief executive

Gosford Park, a murder mystery set amongst the English upper classes and their servants in the 1930s, received £2m worth of funding and grossed £49m.

The lottery-funded Eden Project in Cornwall, a huge greenhouse boasting rainforests and Mediterranean eco-climates, will be holding behind the scenes tours and offering special promotions in the run-up to the anniversary.

There are also plans to highlight the many community projects to benefit, such as cycle-ways, parks and museums.

Arts and lottery minister Estelle Morris has said: "It is thanks to the British public that over the past 10 years the National Lottery has raised so much money for good causes. This money has made a tremendous impact on the lives of so many people.

"It is right that on its 10th birthday we take the opportunity to celebrate the Lottery's success and thank the players who have made these achievements possible."