Discovering places: programme update

‘At its February meeting the Discovering Places Board reviewed the plans for the project. It discussed in detail the continuing uncertainty around the date for the General Election and the possible impact on any activity taking place during the pre-election period, which is now looking very likely to include the 1-3 May weekend we had been working towards.

The Discovering Places Board therefore considered other dates for the launch to take place with the maximum opportunity for press and public attention and participation.  The Board has agreed with LOCOG that this will be best achieved by using the platform of the London 2012 Open Weekend (Friday 23 – Sunday 25 July 2010) to launch Discovering Places.

This not only gives Discovering Places events the benefit of being programmed within a weekend that is publically perceived as part of London 2012, but also brings additional communications support. This includes PR and marketing material and toolkits and the opportunity for additional profile for projects of excellence in each national and region. All the partners agree that this is the best possible opportunity to launch Discovering Places throughout the UK.

Whilst this will bring some considerable additional benefits to those events which are able to move from our original intended launch of early May to late July, we do recognise that some of you will not be able to reschedule. We hope that you will continue to engage with us and that we will be able to work with you as Discovering Places develops.

You can read more about Open Weekend here <http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/open-weekend/information-for-event-organisers/index.php>  and can register your event online.  As you’ll see, to meet the criteria for Open Weekend your event will need to challenge the public in some way.

If your event is free at the point of access with a focus on actively engaging a new audience on natural, built or historic environments, your application will come through to us for consideration to be an official Discovering Places event. This means receiving the additional Discovering Places support for your event, and consideration to be our ‘flagship’ Discovering Places event in your region.

We very much hope you will be able to work with us to make the weekend of 23 – 25 July a success, as the start of our journey towards 2012. If you would like any additional information please contact our Project Co-ordinator Catharine Bull by emailing her on c.bull@heritagelink.org.uk

Thank you for your continued support and interest in Discovering Places and the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.’