In October the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) published its Setting the Pace document that outlines the contribution museums could make to the games.
In the same month a Museums and Galleries Group was jointly convened by the MLA and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to discuss the International Exhibitions Project for the games.
And then came the announcement that the remaining £40m in the Millennium Fund's coffers would be handed over to the Legacy Trust UK to coordinate and fund cultural and sporting activity across the UK.
Unfortunately, a lot of the discussion about the cultural programme was overshadowed by the announcement that it's going to cost us all (especially if you live in London) a lot more than was previously anticipated. The price tag for the venues alone has jumped up by 40 per cent to £3.3bn, and it seems that the knock-on effect of this could be that culture loses out in funding terms.
Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding between the government and the mayor of London, the money to cover any overspend on the Olympics will be found from existing national lottery funds and council-tax payers in the capital, although there is no formula for how this will be shared.
Considering that the mayor is unlikely to want to ask Londoners to foot the bill, there will be pressure on the government to wring what it can out of the national lottery, which could be bad news for the Heritage Lottery Fund and those that rely on it.
Giving evidence at the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in November last year, Tessa Jowell, the culture
secretary, said that she had never ruled out taking money from the national lottery to pay for the Olympics.
Part of her justification for taking cash away from the lottery to support the games was that culture and heritage would feel the benefit from increased tourism and the international exposure that the games will bring. But the surprising fact is that there might not be any more tourists in the UK in 2012 than there would be in a normal year.
According to lobbying group the Tourism Alliance most Olympic-related tourism would only be a substitute for the leisure and business tourism that would otherwise occur.
Of course the flip-side is that the games, assuming they run smoothly and are deemed a success, could be the equivalent of a six-week global TV advertisement for the UK that could boost tourism in the years following 2012.
Financial wrangling aside, what does the cultural programme look like so far? The Cultural Olympiad starts in 2008 when the Beijing Olympics close and the baton is passed to the UK. But at the moment, the plans are still vague.
One of the main projects that is relevant to museums will be the International Exhibitions Project (previously known as the Five Rings exhibition programme).
The loose idea is that some of the UK's best collections will be reinterpreted from international perspectives, including by guest curators from abroad, and that the exhibition programme will be jointly hosted by a number of venues throughout the UK.
The Museums and Galleries Group has been established with the specific aim of putting some meat on the bones of this programme and has already met several times.
A fully costed project plan should be in place by the end of February, which will then hopefully gain official backing from LOCOG. This will mean the project will be eligible for backing from one of the games official sponsors - although public money, probably from the lottery - will have to be used as well.
In the meantime, the MLA received over 100 responses to its consultation on Setting the Pace. MLA's job now is to pull together a full programme of events, exhibitions and projects that will be launched in spring this year.
Despite worries about the financial implications for museums and galleries, it looks like something approaching a strategic plan for what the sector can offer is at last crystallising.
Sharon Heal
www.mla.gov.uk/website/programmes/settingthepace
WHO'S WHO?
Olympic Delivery Authority: responsible
for venues and infrastructure
London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG): responsible for staging of games including sporting, culture and education programmes and opening and closing ceremonies
Museums and Galleries Group: responsible for developing the International Exhibitions Project. Made up of museum and non-museum bodies (operates until March 2007)
In the same month a Museums and Galleries Group was jointly convened by the MLA and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to discuss the International Exhibitions Project for the games.
And then came the announcement that the remaining £40m in the Millennium Fund's coffers would be handed over to the Legacy Trust UK to coordinate and fund cultural and sporting activity across the UK.
Unfortunately, a lot of the discussion about the cultural programme was overshadowed by the announcement that it's going to cost us all (especially if you live in London) a lot more than was previously anticipated. The price tag for the venues alone has jumped up by 40 per cent to £3.3bn, and it seems that the knock-on effect of this could be that culture loses out in funding terms.
Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding between the government and the mayor of London, the money to cover any overspend on the Olympics will be found from existing national lottery funds and council-tax payers in the capital, although there is no formula for how this will be shared.
Considering that the mayor is unlikely to want to ask Londoners to foot the bill, there will be pressure on the government to wring what it can out of the national lottery, which could be bad news for the Heritage Lottery Fund and those that rely on it.
Giving evidence at the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in November last year, Tessa Jowell, the culture
secretary, said that she had never ruled out taking money from the national lottery to pay for the Olympics.
Part of her justification for taking cash away from the lottery to support the games was that culture and heritage would feel the benefit from increased tourism and the international exposure that the games will bring. But the surprising fact is that there might not be any more tourists in the UK in 2012 than there would be in a normal year.
According to lobbying group the Tourism Alliance most Olympic-related tourism would only be a substitute for the leisure and business tourism that would otherwise occur.
Of course the flip-side is that the games, assuming they run smoothly and are deemed a success, could be the equivalent of a six-week global TV advertisement for the UK that could boost tourism in the years following 2012.
Financial wrangling aside, what does the cultural programme look like so far? The Cultural Olympiad starts in 2008 when the Beijing Olympics close and the baton is passed to the UK. But at the moment, the plans are still vague.
One of the main projects that is relevant to museums will be the International Exhibitions Project (previously known as the Five Rings exhibition programme).
The loose idea is that some of the UK's best collections will be reinterpreted from international perspectives, including by guest curators from abroad, and that the exhibition programme will be jointly hosted by a number of venues throughout the UK.
The Museums and Galleries Group has been established with the specific aim of putting some meat on the bones of this programme and has already met several times.
A fully costed project plan should be in place by the end of February, which will then hopefully gain official backing from LOCOG. This will mean the project will be eligible for backing from one of the games official sponsors - although public money, probably from the lottery - will have to be used as well.
In the meantime, the MLA received over 100 responses to its consultation on Setting the Pace. MLA's job now is to pull together a full programme of events, exhibitions and projects that will be launched in spring this year.
Despite worries about the financial implications for museums and galleries, it looks like something approaching a strategic plan for what the sector can offer is at last crystallising.
Sharon Heal
www.mla.gov.uk/website/programmes/settingthepace
WHO'S WHO?
Olympic Delivery Authority: responsible
for venues and infrastructure
London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG): responsible for staging of games including sporting, culture and education programmes and opening and closing ceremonies
Museums and Galleries Group: responsible for developing the International Exhibitions Project. Made up of museum and non-museum bodies (operates until March 2007)
