Run-up to London 2012 starts here

The 2012 Cultural Olympiad was launched in earnest last month following London mayor Boris Johnson's acceptance of the Olympic flag at the finale of the Beijing games.

The four-year Cultural Olympiad includes the mandatory ceremonies, 10 major cultural projects and local and regional events all aimed at welcoming the world to the UK and inspiring young people. Its focus will be on celebrating youth, diversity and creating a lasting legacy.

The challenge will be to get partners enthused and involved. Museums, community groups and cultural organisations will need to be inspired enough to sign up and raise money for projects.

At the launch, Jude Kelly, chair of culture at the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog), promised the Cultural Olympiad would be the "largest celebration of our cultural life in living memory".

It kicked off at the end of last month, when Open Weekend involved more than 160 museums, galleries and other arts and cultural organisations in the nine regions and devolved nations throwing open their doors to the public for free.

But lots of museums and galleries have been asking about the money? Unless you are involved in one of the major projects, the message is clear: "get fundraising".

The 10 major projects which will happen from now up until 2012 will need £40m of funding. Locog has already secured £8m for them; the other £32m is expected to come from the lead and their partners in the projects.

So, for example, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), which is leading on Stories of the World, will have to contribute funding to the project although, according to a spokesman for the MLA, most of this will come in staff time. Other local and regional events are expected to be self-funded.

Legacy Trust UK, which aims to create a sporting and cultural legacy from the games, has a £40m endowment fund and has set itself a target of raising a further £40m by 2013 to promote long-lasting benefits from the games. It has already granted £13.4m to seven regions.

As well as questions about funding, there have also been doubts expressed about the grassroots input into the 10 major projects. The bid was put together quickly, said one source, who was doubtful as to whether consultation had been as wide as it should have been. But Kelly, Locog's chair of culture, was adamant that young people had been involved from the start.

Although a small amount of money is available and some projects have been unveiled, it is still hard to envisage exactly how the Cultural Olympiad is going to evolve.

As one museum insider said, it is easy to be cynical this far away from the games. But he added that it is wise to get involved, otherwise you might feel as if you are missing out.