BOOST London 2012 Conference - Press Release
BOOST London 2012 Conference hits the high notes for arts, tourism and networking
From the first few sweet notes of his Acappella rendition to the high energy crescendo of his live performance Aaron Soul and the Makin Sport project were truly world class. It was appropriate that this World Premiere was hosted at Luton’s Centre for Carnival Arts and showcased a great example of the inspiration of London 2012 for young people. It will not be lost on the audience that we were witnessing the real life X factor here in Bedfordshire rather than the media hype that crowds our TV screens. The ‘Makin sport’ project was led by DAIP, The Diversity Arts Incubation Programme with some of the funding provided by BOOST. But the show didn’t stop there. Poet Aaron Bailey had opened the cultural element of the conference with a breathtaking rendition of his first poem which was delivered faultlessly, with the rhythm and poise of a seasoned poet laureate. It was so engaging that it made you want to pick up a pen and paper and start writing your own poems one delegate commented.
Lloyd Conaway, Chair of BOOST said “The audience including Charles Allen from LOCOG were transfixed by this inspiring performance; it really raised the hairs on the back of your neck and was simply electric. This highlights the potential for local projects and people to benefit from the London 2012 Games”. The conference also welcomed world famous Ms Jane Jackson Harley who brought 30 young people from the Kennet Foundation based out of Apollo Theatre in New York to launch a talent project in partnership Saundra Glenn of the REIDY Foundation.
“It was a wonderful opportunity to get the diversity of the young people performing on the Makin Sport dance and the Ability dance projects to create a cultural Olympiad opportunity here in Bedford today and I really hope we can get more of Bedfordshire on board” Saundra Glenn, Reidy Foundation.
“We have to knock on the door and keep being heard. Britain won the Games on its cultural diversity, that was the winning angle over Paris and other cities and we need to embrace that more and more for the projects and the people” – Saundra Glenn
Young performers commented:
Aaron Bailey (poet): “I am the poet, to be honest this is best experience of my life, it was an actual honour and privilege to be involved today, it was an inspiring day that will make me want to carry on“
Carrie Louise Knight (ballet dancer) (:”Being part of this is a huge honour, a challenging one, for the fact it was just me out there, solo, to be part of making history is a huge thing, for me and for all those taking part they should be very proud, the audience seemed to enjoy it they had huge smiles on their faces”
Aaron Soul “ I feel completely privileged to work with such a special group, it has been quite an adrenalin rush, Aarons poem completely blew me away, to be quite honest I would do this every day if I could”
The conference was a partnership between Experience Bedfordshire, who promote Bedfordshire and Luton as a fantastic tourism destination, London Luton Airport and BOOST. The delegates from tourism, business and the local community were treated to several high profile keynote speakers including Charles Allen, board member of LOCOG, the organising committee, Jo Ann Lloyd of London Luton Airport and Experience Bedfordshire, Stephen Castle, Chair of Nations and Regions East, Keith Brown, head of East of England Tourism and Lloyd Conaway of BOOST.
With the London 2012 Olympics less than 1000 days away it was pertinent to hear an update from Charles Allen on the great work completed and underway. A picture was painted for the delegates of a new skyline for that part of London with the stadium and aquatic centre taking shape. Mr Allen also highlighted the tremendous opportunities in terms of tourism, volunteering and the legacy of the Games which Bedfordshire can take advantage of. Mr Allen also challenged the audience and delegates to do more, 70% of the public are interested to know how to get involved? He said. “This will be an exciting year, a mascot will be launched, our fantastic sponsors will be doing more, but how do we make it even bigger?” Charles Allen’s closing remarks were to endorse working together to differentiate Bedfordshire as the destination of choice.
BOOST, Bedfordshire Olympics Opportunities Support Team is working hard to deliver a lasting legacy for the London 2012 Games in Bedfordshire and Luton. The BOOST team have had 12 venues accepted as possible training locations for visiting teams and already a number of overseas teams have visited the county. Tourism and specifically these training venues offer a fantastic opportunity for local business with visiting teams, supporters and their families.
Delegates of the conference and businesses also benefitted from workshops run by Keith Brown, on tourism, Andy Grays, from the Luton Hat Factory on culture, Adam Rigglesford of Sport England and Mal Hussain from Luton Borough Council on business opportunities. During the conference delegates also heard about some of the successful initiatives from London 2012; Compete For
(https://www.competefor.com/business/login.jsp), a registration process for businesses to be kept informed about work being procured for the Olympics delivery and also Get Set which is targeted to schools and our young people to be involved. Schools should register on-line @ http://getset.london2012.com/en/home.
- Ends –
For more information then please contact
Richard Harpham BOOST Press and media liaison
richard@prokayak.co.uk 07710 616520
Nasima Rahmand, Diversity Arts Incubation Programme (DAIP)
admin@daip.co.uk 01582 878129 / 07956628388
Saundra Glenn, Chair, Reidy Youth Foundation
reidy@bsen.org 07929 753906
For more information about regional 2012 Games activity visit www.eeda.org.uk/london2012makingithappen or national information on www.london2012.com
For further information on Nations and Regions East please contact Gemma Cooper, Senior Communication Executive for NRE on 07544 310438 or email gemmacooper@eeda.org.uk
- Notes to editors -
(1) BOOST – Bedfordshire Olympic Opportunities Support Team
BOOST is a public, private, 3rd sector partnership including Bedford BC, Luton BC, Central Bedfordshire Council, the University of Bedfordshire and the Harpur Trust. www.boost.uk.com
BOOST has a series of Working Groups covering Business, Tourism, Sport, Education/Young People and Culture of which there is a page dedicated to each on this website. Volunteering is seen as a cross cutting issue.
It aims to realise the benefits of London 2012 to local communities.
(2) www.experiencebedfordshire.co.uk Tourism, Event Ideas, Family Fun, & Thrills developing Bedfordshire as the Activity Capital of the East
Experience Bedfordshire is a website and tourism partnership that highlights the best attractions, activities, things to do in and a range of family fun in Bedfordshire. The best hotels, B and B’s and accommodation on offer Bedfordshire. Bedfordshire offers a diverse range of activities and places of interest second to none in the country.
Bedfordshire is shaping up to be the Activity Capital of the East with venues such as Box End Park wakeboarding park, Palmer’s Bedford Autodrome, Chicksands Woods Mountain Bike Centre, Shuttleworth collection, Woburn and Whipsnade Safari parks, Go Ape at Woburn, Bodyflight skydiving centre, London Gliding Club in Dunstable, top class kayaking and rowing on the River Great Ouse and Bedford’s Victorian embankment.
The Bedfordshire Activity Capital also boasts some huge events including Luton Carnival, second only to Notting Hill in size and also the bi-annual Bedford River Festival which is the 3rd largest outdoor event in Europe. Bedfordshire also boasts top class sporting events with national athletics at Bedford’s International stadium, top quality football at Luton Town, exciting running rugby at Bedford Rugby Club to name but a few.
Fun and experience days are also in abundance with Sporting Targets (off-road driving and shooting), Wyboston Lakes (jet skiing to offroad driving, archery to quad bikes), Palmer’s Bedford Autodrome, Bodyflight skydiving, bird of prey centre at Biggleswade , Martson Vale Forest Centre, just off the M1. Mead Open Farm for youngsters or taking part in sport at one of the main leisure centre’s in the county.
Experience Bedfordshire is well served by great transport connections with London Luton airport at the heart of the county and a good train service from London St Pancras passing both Luton, Luton Airport Parkway and Bedford on the same line. Main arterial connections of the UK, the M1 and A1 both service the county with Bedfordshire nestled conveniently between them.
www.experiencebedfordshire.co.uk
(3) The UK Centre for Carnival Arts (UKCCA)
The Luton Carnival Arts Development Trust (LCADT) founded in 1998, is an independent arts development agency set up to provide advocacy, training, education and outreach activity that promotes the value and impact of carnival arts.
LCADT defines carnival arts as those art form derived or evolved from the very roots of carnival in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and South America, namely drum, dance, calypso, costume (mas), steel pan, stilt walking, street theatre and sound systems (soca, chutney, rapso, samba, salsa, meringue. These art forms are constantly evolving and as a result the LCADT want to widen the scope of art forms traditionally not regarded as carnival arts, these will include: asian and Islamic music and dance from Bhangra to Zouk music, circus skills and many more.
The Trust believes that participation in and enjoyment of the carnival arts can significantly enhance racial harmony, improve the quality of life, build a confident local cultural identity, improve educational attainment and tackle social exclusion.
(3) Diversity Arts Incubation Programme (DAIP)
The Diversity Arts Incubation Programme is a charitable organisation which offers a support system designed to progress the professional development of all Young Emerging Artists, Creative Industry Entrepreneurs and Multidisciplinary Arts Practitioners. Based in the East of England, it aims to build the confidence and capability of community artists, arts organisations and promoters from culturally diverse backgrounds through training, support and promotion. It also aims to deliver complimentary programmes, connecting the grass roots with the mainstream.
Thursday 26th November at 11.45am, the launch of a commissioned dance piece entitled "Makin Sport" will take place. The piece is a 20 minute dance musical performance as part of the BOOST conference. The dance, created and produced by Diversity Arts Incubation Programme (DAIP), represents the first stage of a large musical theatre production called "Sporting Heroes" which will celebrate the lives of many UK sporting personalities and will be toured nationally. This first stage of DAIP's project has been partly funded by BOOST.
For details about DAIP's programmes, contact: 01582 878129 or email: admin@daip.co.uk
(4) Visit to Luton by an American Apollo Legend (Talent Developer)
American Apollo Legend, Ms Jane Jackson Harley, the founder of Kemet Productions, will bring her talent development charity to Luton for the first time to inspire more performing arts careers and activities in Bedfordshire. Kemet Productions is seeking to meet amateur stage-ready individuals with a genuine talent for singing, dancing and acting or a combination of any of the three jurisdictions.
On Thursday 26th November at 1.30pm at the UK Centre for Carnival Arts in Luton, the charity will hold an open workshop followed by auditions for aspiring performers. The programme entitled "Road to Stardom" educates talented hopefuls about the realities of the entertainment business. "Kemet Productions provides an outlet for them to showcase their talent to industry experts and helps to groom them to become professionals," said Ms Jackson-Harley. One or two lucky Programme participants are also given the opportunity to promote their talents abroad as a result of this workshop.
Kemet Productions is a Washington, DC-based, non-profit organization that implements a robust training prgoramme for its "Road to Stardom" participants. Kemet is dedicated to preparing aspiring artists for the reality of the entertainment industry by stressing the importance of morality, honesty, and hard work with an emphasis on artistic development and training as the motivation for educational success. Kemet currently provides training conferences, entertainment workshops and mentorship programs in Washington, DC, New York, Hollywood, and London.
The visit to Luton is supported by Reidy Youth Foundation, a UK charity hosting Cultural Olympiad projects under the "Ability" banner. The "Road to Stardom" will help to motivate many of the future performers for the Foundation.
Queries about talent development and the auditions can be made by emailing reidy@bsen.org on or before Thursday 26th November for details.
(5) London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is one of the UK's largest airports and carried over 10 million passengers in 2008, employing over 500 staff, the airport is a major economic driver for the region, as well as a major base for 'low cost' or 'no frills' air travel.
easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Monarch, Thomson, Aer Arann, EL AL, Blue Air, Wind Jet and Flybe operate from the airport, departing to over 90 destinations including services to Europe, Africa, and Asia, with onward connections to Mumbai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Beijing and Bangkok via Tel Aviv.
The Airport is proud of its involvement with the local community and this conference is just one of many initiatives it is involved with in helping develop local business and tourism opportunities.
http://www.london-luton.co.uk/
Jo.lloyd@ltn.aero
(6) Nations and Regions East (NRE)
Vision
The East of England will Rise to the Challenge of London 2012 by creating a sustainable legacy that extends far beyond the sporting landscape.
Achieving the vision
The Nations and Regions East (NRE) partnership will maximise the economic, social and sporting benefit from the Games through a whole host of regional initiatives.
Delivery Partners
NRE’s delivery partners include: East of England Development Agency, Sport England East, Arts Council England East, Government Office East, East of England Regional Assembly, east of England Tourism, England Volunteering Development Council, East of England Business Group, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, Department of Health, East of England Skills and Competitiveness Partnership plus representation from the six county areas of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Essex including Thurrock and Southend, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Some of the milestones in the East of England to date include:
• 122 businesses have won Games related contracts in the region.
• 823 schools registered for the London 2012 Get Set programme, designed to inspire young people by sharing and promoting success stories through an online education resource.
• 2 schools from the region are now two of the first to be part of the Get Set network and able to use the recently launched London 2012 Education Mark.
• 66 facilities accepted as Olympic Pre Games Training Camps (PGTC) and 12 accepted as Paralympic PGTCs.
• Over 80 events participated in the London 2012 Open Weekend in 2009, which makes the 2012 Games “everybody’s” Games by extending the reach and the legacy of the Olympics and Paralympics beyond London and beyond sport.
• 18 Inspire Marks awarded in the East, which enables local projects to link their activities to the non commercial version of the London 2012 branding . These projects span arts and culture; sport; volunteering; education; sustainability and business.
