Olympic legacy projects announced

The first cultural and sporting events designed to bring the benefits of the 2012 London Olympic Games to the whole of the UK have been announced.

Legacy Trust UK will give £13.4m to projects such as alternative sports festivals in the south west of England.

There will be a Great Exhibition in the East Midlands and London itself will get £2.89m to put on the Big Dance event for 1.8 million people.

In Wales, a touring exhibition will celebrate famous Welsh Olympians.

Funding for projects in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England will be announced in the coming months.

'Inspire generations'

Dugald Mackie, chairman of Legacy Trust UK, said: "The Olympics are about more than sport.

"As the handover ceremony showed, the Games will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase Britain and to inspire generations of young people.

"The projects we are funding will encourage people throughout the UK to take part in cultural and sporting events, and will help leave a lasting legacy from the 2012 Olympics."

The first tranche of grants announced include:

• £1.61m to the East Midlands for a series of cultural events culminating in a Great Exhibition for up to 1.25 million people.
• £1.51m to the east of England to encourage more volunteers to get involved in culture and sport.
• £1.92m for the south east of England - the birthplace of the Paralympics - to involve disabled people in a wide range of projects.
• £1.67m for four projects in Wales, including sports clubs and competitions for young people.
• £2.2m for the West Midlands to create up to 500 Community Games competitions.
• £1.61m for the south west of England for activities such as skateboarding, surfing, free running and mountain biking.

Legacy Trust UK was launched in November 2007 with a budget of £40m from the lottery and government.

The Trust has vowed to double that funding, about 70% of which will go to cultural activities - the rest to sport.

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