CULTURAL OLYMPIAD – A TALE OF TWO CITIES
From Sydney to Paris: The evolution of Cultural Olympiads and their impact on host cities
This webinar was hosted by World Cities Culture Forum, in partnership with Leadership Exchange participants Los Angeles and Paris and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Hosted every four years, Olympic Games can offer a huge opportunity to showcase cities. Coinciding with the Olympic sporting events, a “Cultural Olympiad” is a programme of cultural events and happenings that brings the city to life.
In this webinar, cultural leaders involved in organising cultural Olympiads at the previous Olympics in London, Tokyo and Sydney share their learnings with future hosts – Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.
Speakers Included
- Justine Simons OBE, Chair of World Cities Culture Forum and London’s Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries
- Kate Levin, Principal at Bloomberg Philanthropies
- Daniel Tarica, General Manager of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles City
- Kristin Sakoda, Director of the Department Arts & Culture, Los Angeles County
- Estelle Sicard, Deputy Director of the Cultural Affairs Department, Paris City
- Craig Hassall, CEO and Artistic Director of Playhouse Square, Cleveland OH and Former General Manager of Olympic Arts Festivals, Sydney
- Angelita Teo, Director of Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage, Tokyo
Key takeaways
- Make the most of the Games. The world’s media are in your city so give them an iconic moment that will showcase the best of your city and its culture.
- Working with local artists and curators will give your city personality. Make artistic expression a fundamental part of the character of the games e.g. opening ceremony, rings, pageantry, venues, torch, torch relay activities.
- The Cultural Olympiad programme should reflect the diversity of your city’s cultural sector
- Edit what you want to achieve. Don’t do too much, but what you do – do it brilliantly.
- You can’t fix the world through the Cultural Olympiad. Be realistic.
- Make sure the programme reflects your city’s values. For example, work with artists and curators that are locally-rooted and internationally known.
- Don’t suppress artists and curators. It’ll make a more challenging presentation but also a more authentic one.
- Don’t underestimate the layers of bureaucracy and procurement needed to commission artist interventions and public artworks.
- Understand, organise and structure the governance early.
- Give citizens and arts organisations ownership of the programme – success depends on this.
- Define your audiences. Are you prioritising an international audience? Local audience? Or both.
