Debate
Olympics
The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games dominates the events agenda in this country. A cornerstone of future sports strategy and London’s regeneration, there are huge opportunities for sport and culture. How can we ensure that people of all backgrounds access them and areas across the country benefit? What will it deliver to marginalised communities and how can we help make benefits long lasting? Have lessons been learnt to make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity?
Culture
2008 kicked off with the launch of Liverpool’s Capital of Culture. The government have said that every young person should receive 5 hours of culture a week. What are the roles of cultural events in engaging and developing cities and communities? What are the wider benefits? Are cultural venues ‘open’? And what is the link between culture and sports policy?
Youth
Across all of these issues runs the place of young people. A year into the government’s Youth Strategy, we are hoping for more activities and an increased role for young people in deciding programmes. Still seen by many as a problem rather than a solution, we ask ‘are events open for young people?’ How can events, from the largest to the smallest, involve, deliver, and be led by young people?
Football
We will have just witnessed another football jamboree at Euro 08. It’s an increasingly corporate football world, so how can we make tournaments more open and accessible, ensuring genuine participation of fans? FIFA has just announced that ‘legacy’ will now be a cornerstone of future World Cups. An England bid for 2018 is pending. So we ask ‘what do countries get out of such events?’ Football is a mainstay of sports delivery in social inclusion projects, so how do we make smaller football events count?
