2012 Cultural Olympiad 'too hard to understand'

[divingbrit]

Leaders of the arts festival planned for the 2012 Olympics have abandoned the name 'Cultural Olympiad' because it is too hard for people to understand.

Tony Hall, head of the Royal Opera House and chair of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad board, explained that the public may not know what the words "culture" and "olympiad" mean.

He was quoted as saying: "I think people find the two words really difficult to understand. People say to me: 'What is it?' We want to bring clarity to it."

The programme is a festival of the arts, timed to coincide with the Olympic Games in London in 2012.

Mr Hall told the Evening Standard the event would be a "festival of festivals" including a Shakespeare festival, a youth music programme and specially commissioned work from artists in every part of the UK.

On the London 2012 website, a video called "What the Cultural Olympiad means" asks members of the arts to explain the meaning of the event.

On the video Anish Kapoor, the sculptor, said: "The Cultural Olympiad is complicated because it's rather nebulous, which is, I think, good."

According to the website, the Cultural Olympiad's aims include leaving a lasting cultural legacy and introducing young people to "the UK's artistic communities.


Very true, the idea was good, use the olympics as a springboard to promote the arts, but the phrase 'Cultural Olympiad' did not sit well with the public at large, of course some may say we should not 'Dumb Down' but we have to use titles that all can understand.