The World Fireworks Championship has launched the process of identifying a host city for the event for 2015 and beyond, making it one of the world’s biggest artistic events that moves from one city to another.
“We are incredibly excited about the opportunity that the World Fireworks Championship has to offer a host city, as one of only a few major arts events that move from city to city around the world delivering very significant economic returns,” said Angus Buchanan, joint managing director of The Sports Consultancy.
The Sports Consultancy has partnered with event producer, World Fireworks Productions with the aim of making the championships into “one of the world’s great travelling arts events”.
The process of identifying a host city for the event from 2015 onwards begins today.
“We are realistically looking for a 2015 host who will then host the next two editions before it rotates annually,” said Lucy Caillé, senior consultant at the Sports Consultancy told HOST CITY.
The launch of the bid process coincides with an overhaul of the format of the event. Choreographing fireworks to music, the new look World Fireworks Championship will pit six of the world’s most celebrated fireworks companies against each other, competing for their countries over three weekends to become World Fireworks Champion.
An interactive ‘Art of Light Festival’ will run alongside the championships with the aim of creating a busy programme of family orientated exhibitions and installations.
The event has also just announced its first commercial partner, global travel provider, TUI Event Group, who will will create and market bespoke travel packages to the host destination.
“We believe the World Fireworks Championship event will be an enormously attractive destination marketing package,” said Chad Lion-Chachet, managing director, TUI Event Group.
“The event blends fireworks’ universal appeal with the ability to showcase the city in, literally, the best possible light. We’re really delighted to work with the team to develop the event as a “once in a lifetime” experience.”
The 2010 World Fireworks Championships in Oman attracted an audience of over 750,000 making it the largest ever spectator event in the Sultanate’s history and was won by Lacroix-Ruggieri representing France.
World Fireworks Productions CEO Mark Wooding said: “The 2010 Championship in Oman was incredibly successful, by far exceeding expectations and creating huge public excitement and enormous crowds.
“Our plans for the future promise to take the Championship to new heights and we’re really looking forward to finding a host partner to share in our development of the World Fireworks Championship to make it one of the world’s greatest festivals.”
Potential host cities have been invited to submit an expression of interest by contacting the organisers at hosting@worldfireworkschampionship.com
Tag: Culture
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World Fireworks Championship attracts host cities
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Glastonbury Festival secures 10-year hosting license
The Glastonbury Festival has secured a new premises licence that will enable it to continue to hold the event at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, until 2024.
The new application received only a few representations, of which all concerns were satisfied by the deadline. In the past, Glastonbury Festival’s licences have been subject to scrutiny in a public hearing because of objections from the public or concerns from those with an interest in the safety of the event such as the police, fire or ambulance services.
As one of the world’s largest cultural events without any permanent infrastructure, Glastonbury Festival requires large amounts of temporary event infrastructure and seasonal operational expertise.
Ensuring safety at the music festival will fall under the watch of Nigel Hunt, building control manager at Mendip District Council and interim head of the proposed Somerset Building Control Partnership.
“This is an enormous festival and no one can afford to be complacent – we will continue to work with the organisers to ensure this remains one of the safest events anywhere, and if we have any doubts about this we will take action,” said Mr Hunt.
“Thankfully, this year everything went without a hitch and my team did a superb job as ever.”
His structures monitoring team, which already has many years of Glastonbury Festival experience, is responsible for all temporary structures including the Avalon Inn, the Irish Piano Bar and the new BBC studio in The Park, as well as all the stages and platforms.
Building control teams are involved as part of the licensing team at sporting and cultural events.
“This is my second year working at Glastonbury and I still can’t believe the size and scale of the festival, the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes and the number of miles the building control team have to walk every day on their shifts,” said local authority building control (LABC) director of training Anna Thompson, who attended this year’s festival as part of the structures monitoring team for Mendip District Council.
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Games of culture
Many will be looking forward to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games this summer purely because of the sporting action that will be taking place across Scotland’s largest city, with stars such as Mo Farah set to be competing. However, in recent years major sporting events have not only been required to provide a city full of the best in sporting stadiums and facilities but also a comprehensive cultural programme.
The Cultural Olympiad, which took place as part of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, included artists from across the country taking part in large scale cultural events. The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games is planning a similar array of arts projects to take place around the Games.
Organisers have called the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme an ‘unprecedented nationwide programme of activity’ that includes 200 projects and exhibitions and over 800 events. The programme is split into two separate brands: Culture 2014, which is a longer term project that is taking place across Scotland, and Festival 2014, which is the Glasgow-based side of the project that will run alongside side the sporting activities.
Culture 2014 is set to include dance performances, stand-up comedy and theatre projects across Scotland which will aim to involve a large number of people from a wide range of backgrounds. Festival 2014 will then provide two weeks of culture and arts in the host city of Glasgow, which organisers hope will act as a celebration of the Games.
A sporting and cultural event
The head of this ambitious cultural programme is Jill Miller. She says the cultural function of the Commonwealth Games is now a key element of the event that needs to be integrated in with the sporting aspects.
“The organising committee for the Games has been very clear about this, it is a sporting and cultural event,” explains Miller. “I think that’s something that’s changed. What we’re really keen on is that this is about strengthening what’s happening in the city to make the city the very best host is possibly can be.”
Miller experienced the cultural side of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Manchester and Delhi and she says this experience has given her team a great insight into how best to put together a cultural programme.
“We went to look at what was happening in terms of how these festivals were delivered. We came back from all of those experiences and developed a model in Glasgow that was about engaging with our existing cultural sectors, to make sure they had the opportunity to accelerate their ambitions.”
Legacy is often cited as one of the key aspects of any cities’ bid to host a major sports event, but this is usually looked upon from a sporting and infrastructure perspective. In London the regeneration of the East End and the lasting effects of inspirational sporting achievements were cited as key parts of the legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games.
However, Miller wants to also include the legacy element of the Games into the cultural programme. “I would suggest the festival we have in the city is much more integrated into the plans and the developments for the future… what we’re trying to do is get people to come back post 2014,” she says.
Host with the most
As part of this legacy, the programme aims to promote the host city to the rest of the Commonwealth, and vice versa, through working with a range of government bodies and wider international organisations. “This is absolutely about showcasing Scotland and Glasgow within the Commonwealth and working with the Commonwealth in a way that we can actually showcase them in Scotland and Glasgow.
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NFL asks musicians to pay for Super Bowl spot
American football’s NFL has proposed that musicians should have to pay to perform at the coveted Super Bowl Halftime Show.
The proposal received a “chilly reception” from Coldplay, Katy Perry and Rihanna, the three musicians under consideration for the 2015 show, according to the Wall Street Journal newspaper.
Traditionally the NFL has not paid a performance fee to the stars of the show, although it does cover expenses for the act and the entourage.
The Halftime Show, which takes place on the pitch in the break between the second and third quarters in the NFL’s showpiece game, always attracts one of the largest global television audiences of the year.
A record audience of 115.3 million viewers tuned in for the 2014 Halftime Show on February 2 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bruno Mars taking to the stage.
According to data measurement company Nielsen, musicians who perform at the Halftime Show regularly experience a significant spike in album sales and paid digital downloads due to the exposure of the performance. Several acts have used the Halftime Show as a platform to launch a new album.
It has been reported that the NFL has proposed a revenue-sharing arrangement whereby the league would receive a portion of additional album sales income as an alternative to a flat fee from the performers.
NFL spokeswoman Joanna Hunter said that the league’s priority was to “put on the best possible show” for fans.
“When we have something to announce, we’ll announce it,” she added.
In June, Variety magazine reported that the NBC network is asking advertisers to pay $4.5m for a 30-second spot during the 2015 Super Bowl – a record figure and a 12.5-per-cent increase on the Fox network’s advertising rate card for the 2014 game.
The Super Bowl Halftime Show has attracted the biggest names in the music business over the years, with performers including The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, The Rolling Stones, U2, Tina Turner, Phil Collins, Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Paul McCartney, Madonna and Michael Jackson.
The 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show will take place on February 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. -
Milan to host MTV EMA during 2015 World Expo
The MTV Europe Music Awards (EMA) is to return to Milan next year, to coincide with the Expo 2015.
The news was announced by event host and rap sensation Nicki Minaj at the 2014 EMA at SSE Hydro in Glasgow on 9th November.
The 2015 edition of MTV’s star-studded awards show will be held at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan on October 25.
Sunday night’s extravaganza was the first time Glasgow had hosted the event, culminating an extraordinary year of events in Glasgow and Scotland that included the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup.
This will be the second time that the major international music awards event will be held in Milan, which played host in 1998, and the third time Italy has hosted the show.
“The 2004 show in Rome was a huge success. Now, we’re looking forward to delivering an even bigger and better experience with the 2015 MTV EMA in partnership with EXPO, bringing thousands of people from around the world to Milan.” said Raffaele Annecchino, Executive Vice President and Managing Director VIMN South Europe, Middle East & Africa.
“We’re thrilled to bring the 2015 MTV EMA to Milan – an iconic city where art, fashion and music collide, and home to the World Expo,” said Bruce Gillmer, Executive Producer of the MTV EMA and Executive Vice President of Music / Talent Programming and Events for event owner Viacom International Media Networks.
“One of the world’s biggest cultural capitals, Milan will undoubtedly set the stage one of the biggest global music events of the year,” he added.
The World Expo is the world’s largest city-based event, after the Olympic Games. The theme of the Milan 2015 Expo is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.
According to Bob Bakish, president and chief executive of Viacom International Media Networks, the EMAs bring “a noticeable economic boost for the host city every year”.
It has been estimated that Glasgow will have benefited by as much as £10m from hosting the MTV EMA. -
IOC should make culture equal to sports, says Agenda 2020 expert
The first principle of Olympism is to blend sport with culture, but Olympic Games is still not going far enough to raise the profile of cultural events, according to a prominent UK politician and expert advisor to the IOC.
“I think probably the IOC needs to go further in reaffirming the fundamental role that the cultural festival has as part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Dame Tessa Jowell told HOST CITY in an exclusive interview. “So there are three events: there is the Summer Games; the Paralympics and the cultural festival.”
While host cities can and often do put on major cultural events alongside major sporting events, their primary obligation is towards the sporting activities. However, Jowell, who is an expert advisor to the IOC on bidding procedure as part of its Olympic Agenda 2020 review, says that cultural events should take on just as primary a role as sporting activities during the Games.
“I think it’s important that Pierre de Coubertin did see this duality in the Olympic ideal, and it would be a great pity to lose that,” she told HOST CITY.
The founder of the modern Olympic Games, Coubertin envisaged the Games as a “festival of mind and body”.
“At the time of the splendour of Olympia… literature and arts, harmoniously combined with sports, ensured the greatness of Olympic Games. This should be true for the future,” Coubertin wrote.
While early modern Olympic Games featured medals for the arts, the prominence of arts and culture within the event programme faded in the middle of the twentieth century, until recent editions brought a resurgence of interest. London’s “Cultural Festival” drew on some of the world’s greatest cultural leaders and talents to wide-reaching effect.
“We had the most prominent and successful cultural festival ever for the Olympics,” said Jowell, who was also a board member of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. “20 million people had a bit of Olympic experience through the cultural festival.”
The IOC estimated that around half a million people would have experienced Olympic-related cultural events in Sochi in 2014.
Glasgow 2014 put on a huge programme of free cultural events across the city to rival London’s, billed as “Festival 2014”.
The Olympic Charter describes Olympism as “blending sport with culture and education”, but the extent to which culture should feature in the Games is nothing like as rigorously determined like the programme of sports events.
A Host City contract currently includes no obligation to include any specific cultural activities, other than to say that the organising committee “must organize a programme of cultural events.”
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City of lights
When in 2008 the northern English county of Durham and its small historic city became a unitary council – the fifth biggest in England – it was golden opportunity to build a new events and tourism strategy for the region.
“One of the things that became obvious was the need to change the narrative, both regionally, nationally and internationally about Durham, which was seen as a former industrial area,” George Garlick, Chief Executive of Durham County Council, told HOST CITY.
Durham put in a bid to be the UK’s first City of Culture in 2013 – a bold move for a city of less than 40,000 people. In the end, the title was awarded to Derry~Londonderry, but Durham decided to press on with its ambitious programme of cultural events anyway as a way of attracting visitors to the region.
It was through this work that the possibility of hosting the Lumiere festival came about, a huge light festival owned by a small and innovative arts events company called Artichoke.
“It was one of those fortuitous things. Artichoke were planning a major festival of light elsewhere in the UK and that fell through, and they’d got backing from the European Commission and Sky Arts at that stage,” says Garlick.
“So it was a fairly fully developed proposition, and on hearing that we were raising the flag for major events here in Durham, they came to see us and we said ‘yes, that sounds great’. In 2009, pretty much at the drop of a hat, the first Lumiere festival was put on.”
Durham has hosted Lumiere every other year since then, with the city investing GB£400,000 in the event for 2011 and 2013. These sums have been matched by the Arts Council, with additional funding from the European Commission and a significant amount of private sponsorship and a major grant from VisitEngland.
Lumiere had a huge impact, with 175,000 visitors coming to see the light festival in 2013. National newspapers published double page spreads on the event and the international broadcaster BBC World ran a one minute clip of the show on its rolling news coverage for 24 hours.
“It’s a really interesting balance of something that’s working for the local population, but also being attractive to people visiting for the first time,” says Helen Marriage, director of Artichoke. “Just over half the visitors that we count through our evaluation come from the immediate city, 17 per cent from the wider region and the rest from outside.”
The increase in tourism over the period that Durham has been hosting Lumiere is impressive. “VisitEngland said we were one of the fastest growing tourism areas over the last three years – we are up 150 per cent in Durham itself and nearly 20 per cent across the county,” says Garlick.
“The increase in the visitor economy in each of the last three years means a huge increase in employment. It’s not just the people who are actually employed for the festival – the major change is the structural change in Durham as a tourism destination.
“The festival actually generates GB£5 million directly in restaurant sales, overnight stays and so on in the local economy. We’ve seen a lot more people coming from both Europe and in particular America.”
Lumiere is a very successful flagship event, but it’s not the only contributor to Durham’s success. 2013 was a particularly big year for the city.
“We had the Ashes test between England and Australia at riverside stadium, where England won the Ashes to baying and excited crowds, which was terrific. We had the Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition, which came up from the British Library – 100,000 people bought every ticket available for the three months that it was on. We had cycling events, a brass festival – but Lumiere is the jewel in the crown.”
The good news continued in 2014, with Durham County Council being named local council of the year. “It’s a city and county that really punches above its weight,” says Marriage.
“It’s tempting to think that it’s an impoverished area with a decline of traditional industry, but that’s not the impression you get when you are here. It’s a place on the up and people are making it work – and events are really part of that culture.”
Durham’s long term strategy is hinged around Lumiere, but another important cultural event is the fast-growing Durham Book Festival. “The world heritage site between the cathedral, the castle and the university has a number of display venues, so there’s a programme worked out in advance for that,” says Garlick.
“In 2015 there will be a major exhibition of the Magna Cartas, which are in the cathedral’s ownership to coincide with the anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta.”
In October 2015 the Rugby World Cup comes to St. James’ Park in Newcastle, just 15 minutes from Durham. “I would hope, as we’ve seen in many previous large events and when we saw the Olympics were on, we’ll see a lot of people visiting Durham,” says Garlick.
“Durham hotels traditionally pick up a lot of business from anything major that’s happening in Newcastle because it’s an attractive place to stay and a 15 minute train journey, so the Rugby World Cup will be really good for us.”
The next Lumiere festival takes place in November 2015. “We’ve recently agreed a package with the Arts Council, which will allow us to do it next year and in 2017,” says Garlick.
The city consulted with the local people and businesses before agreeing to host the event again. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from the public, but particularly from businesses who think this is working really well in terms of hoisting Durham’s flag,” says Garlick.
“It’s a huge project that takes about 18 months to plan,” says Marriage. “So we are a year out and we are looking at all the logistics – traffic planning, crowd management, where the installations might go, technically what they might need.”
Helen Marriage was one of the speakers at HOST CITY Bid to Win conference on 28th October 2014, on a panel called “Bidding for the Right Event”, alongside the owner of a very different event, Peter Tindemans of Euroscience – which awards the EU City of Science.
“It was really fascinating to begin to think about what we do from the other end of the telescope,” says Marriage. “So hearing Peter Tindemans talk about the fact that he saw Euroscience as a property that he could get cities to bid for – that’s never the way we work, we are always trying to persuade people to let us do what we do.”
Lumiere also took place in Derry last year as part of the closing celebrations for the first UK City of Culture, and there are many other events that Artichoke produces. “We are working in London, Northern Ireland, we are looking at something in Wales. We are increasingly invited to do things internationally.
“But even if cities invite us, they don’t really get what it’s going to be like and all the compromises everyone is going to have to make. Very often an artist will say ‘I really want to make something here’, and we set about the process of persuading the authority that they want to fund it and that they can accommodate it. It’s always tough the first time you go into a place.”
For more information visit www.lumiere-festival.com
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Baku 2015 celebrity ambassadors announced to boost Games reach
With one hundred days to go until the Baku 2015 European Games, thirteen stars from the world of music, television and entertainment were announced as ambassadors on Tuesday afternoon.
The ambassador programme will boost engagement in the event by tapping into the celebrities’ fan base, while the massive scale of the European Games will help the stars to build their own following.
“I am delighted to celebrate 150 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the first European Games with the support of these fantastic celebrities as official ambassadors of the Games,” said Mr Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sports and Chief Executive Officer of Baku 2015.
“I am sure that our celebrity ambassadors will generate great excitement with the young people of Azerbaijan and encourage more people to get involved with the Games.”
The ambassadors include singers Tunzala Aghayeva, Miri Yusif, Roya, and Eurovision winners Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal, comedians Bahram Baghirzade, Rafael and Joshqun, and Tahir and Jabir Imanov, and musician DJ Shock. Well-known presenters Murad Dadashov and Ilkin Hasani will also take part.
The programme will allow Baku 2015 to reach a range of audiences in Azerbaijan and Europe, using the celebrity ambassadors’ star appeal and popularity to share messages about the event.
“Whenever I am on stage I give everything to make it a great performance. In June, it will be Azerbaijan putting on an unforgettable show for the whole of Europe to enjoy,” said singer Ms Tunzala Aghayeva at the launch event at the Mugham Center in Baku.
“As a Baku 2015 Celebrity Ambassador I will be working to encourage people to get involved with Baku 2015 through initiatives such as the volunteer programme, and play a part in creating history for our country.”
Participants will help to promote the Games by visiting Baku 2015 venues, taking part in countdown events, supporting campaigns, and using their own social media channels to reach millions of followers.
“This announcement is the next step in expanding our ambassador programme and continues the great momentum we are generating as we continue our preparations to deliver a spectacular sporting event,” said Simon Clegg, Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015.
“I would like to thank all of our Celebrity Ambassadors for their support and we look forward to working with them to help promote Baku 2015 in the coming months.”
The Baku 2015 European Games begins on 12 June.
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How to host the MTV EMA awards
Ben Avison: I was fortunate enough to be in Glasgow for the MTV EMAs – what a fantastic show!
Bruce Gillmer: It was a great show, we are very proud. The city was great too, it was a good partnership – it was a good one for sure, glad you were there.
Ben Avison: What qualities is Viacom looking for in a host city of the MTV EMAs?
Bruce Gillmer: First and foremost, we are attracted to cities that have rich musical heritage and robust music fans – that lights up the scoreboard for us. Cities that are interesting culturally are attractive.
Also a city that’s easy to travel in and out of from a variety of different cities around the world – easy to get to from the US and the UK, not too far off the beaten path.
Something that is of huge importance to us is the presence of a proper venue to stage the event.
Ben Avison: What are the main technical requirements of a venue to host the MTV EMAs?
Bruce Gillmer: The EMAs is quite a big event, so generally speaking we look for an arena that can hold approximately 10,000 fans and VIPs. We prefer a structure that’s on the newer side, maybe built in the last 10 years.
The Hydro this year was incredible. We got tremendous feedback from the artists, fans and VIPs. It was a comfortable environment with very good sightlines, no matter where you are sitting, for taking in the various different staging that we had around the venue.
And then there are all the other ancillary bits – a dressing room area that can support a red carpet pre-show and so on. The newer venues tend to be much more appropriate for an event of this scale.
Ben Avison: How can hosting the MTV EMAs benefit a city?
Bruce Gillmer: There’s the obvious economic boost that an event brings to a city, with several people travelling in from all around the world.
But really we think the value is in the amount of exposure on an international level that the event brings to the host city. There’s all of the pre-show marketing and promo and press, and then the broadcast of the EMAs itself reaches over 160 territories around the world – it’s a massive audience on every platform. In our minds that’s key – it’s the international exposure.
Also, the EMAs is synonymous with being super-relevant. A city that’s hosting the EMAs will be seen as a forward-looking, exciting location.
Ben Avison: What opportunities are there for cities outside Europe to host MTV events?
Bruce Gillmer: We host a variety of events around the world and we’ve got several award shows in addition to the EMAs, starting with the MAMAs, which is the Mother Africa Music Awards that takes place in Africa each year.
In the past it’s been in Lagos but most recently in Durban. The next host will be another exciting city in South Africa that will prove to be most advantageous from a staging production perspective. The other locations were extremely interesting from a cultural standpoint.
We have the VMAJs (Video Music Awards Japan) which is our awards show for MTV Japan, in Tokyo.
We also produce a variety of World Stage events around the world, which is not an awards per se – it’s basically a collection of artists, both international and local. It’s in Malaysia each year; we’ve been to quite a few cities around Mexico; we also host several events throughout Europe. We reach every major cluster of the world with our events.
It’s not just the obvious locations. We go for keen interest from a city or from a partner to go to a certain location, as long as it makes sense from a staging and production perspective and we can get what we need and we’ve got robust audience and excited music fans, then we’ll consider.
Ideas for events sometimes come to us from external partners or cities. In the case of the MAMAs, we staged an event also on South Africa a couple of years ago – the MTV Africa All Stars – where we had a vast array of artists from different genres from all over the continent – just. We also brought Snoop down, which was really cool and there was a lot of interaction between the artists.
So we’ve literally been to every corner of the world.
Ben Avison: How important are the EMAs to the MTV brand?
Bruce Gillmer: We do a vast array of events throughout the year; they are all important and they all serve a purpose and they all quite frankly support our brand and help us keep connected to the audience, which is vital.
The EMAs is really the crowning jewel and it really does personify the MTV brand. It’s always cutting edge; we hope that it’s always funny and fun and irreverent – all these characteristics are part of the DNA for the MTV brand. It’s really our opportunity to bring the brand to life in one glorious evening.
Ben Avison: The next MTV EMAs is in Milan, isn’t it?
Bruce Gillmer: Correct, we’re extremely excited about that. We announced that partnership as we were leaving Glasgow so really looking forward to that experience. The city of Milan really seems to be excited as well and we look forward to it.
Ben Avison: Have you had much interaction with the World Expo people there?
Bruce Gillmer: Not a tremendous amount just yet but I assume as the weeks and months go on we will for sure, because we are tied in and meant to be the exclamation point to the Expo if you like. We always look to bring the fun with us.
This interview first appeared in the Winter 2014/15 issue of HOST CITY magazine -
Magical ideas to capture the public imagination
HOST CITY: Does culture have a prominent enough role within the Olympic Games now?
Helen Marriage: I think it’s great that there should be a cultural aspect to the Olympic Games, but competitive art is not how the world is these days. There’s a sense in which art does different things from sport, and that whole thing about winners and losers isn’t really how most artists would think.
What you’re dealing with in terms of the Olympics is a very big machine, which is very dedicated to the concept of winning and losing. I think a rebalancing of the significance of art and sport would be really interesting, though whether that can be achieved easily I have some doubt.
The thing about art that differentiates it from sport is the uncertainty. If you are running a sport event, you don’t know who’s going to win but you know what the format is – there are rules and regulations.
I think that London went as far as it is possible to have gone currently in terms of getting culture to be taken seriously as part of the Olympic effort.
HOST CITY: What was the cultural highlight of the Olympic Games for you?
Helen Marriage: I would of course say the project that we did for London 2012, by the director Deborah Warner and actor Fiona Shaw called Peace Camp. It was described by the New York Times as a “refugee camp from heaven” epitomising the story of the Olympics. It was a series of nine installations around the coast of the UK that welcomed visitors through the great poetry of our land. It was a beautiful, quiet, contemplative piece that showcased Britain as an island nation and it was really lovely.
There were really lovely things in London like Piccadilly Circus Circus, which was the opposite, with thousands of people and lots of energy. But the thing I loved about what we did was that it was the opposite of competition – it was really far away from London and you had to make an effort to get there.
HOST CITY: What’s your opinion of public art projects like the Arcelor-Mittal Orbit?
Helen Marriage: I completely understand the motivation for doing it, to build something that was there during the Games and would be there for legacy. It’s not necessarily to everyone’s taste, but those monumental sculptures are always interesting and provoking debate is part of the function of art anyway.
The thing about art is that it’s non-competitive – it’s about how an extraordinary, surprising, magical, unlikely idea can be conjured out of nothing.
Money spent is money spent, but all these things – sport, art, music and religion are all manifestations of our culture and it’s always great to do so as a public voice.
HOST CITY: What are the benefits of artistic events and installations for the people that live in cities?
Helen Marriage: There’s always the thing about looking at your city differently; and they can attract inward investment.
If you look at something like poppies at the Tower of London for Remembrance Day that’s an artwork; it started very quietly. It’s a really simple idea, it’s made millions of pounds for charity, five million people have been to see it, it’s created a real buzz and sense of destination, it was moving to people. Whether you think it is great art or not is not the point – it’s that it captures public imagination.