Select Committee · Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Major cultural and sporting events

Status: Closed Opened: 1 Apr 2021 Closed: 1 Jul 2022 4 recommendations 6 conclusions 1 report

The inquiry will examine the role of major cultural and sporting events in celebrating the UK’s national identity. Several events of international importance are due to be hosted in the UK in 2022, prompting this inquiry by MPs. The inquiry will consider the challenges in the road ahead to the Festival UK* 2022, the start …

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Ninth Report - Major cultural and sporting events HC 259 16 Mar 2022 10 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

10 items
1 Conclusion Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport…

We welcome the Government’s commitment to building on the UK’s strong reputation for delivering major...

We welcome the Government’s commitment to building on the UK’s strong reputation for delivering major events but believe more could be done to develop a strategic approach to hosting them, particularly beyond the realm of major sporting events. In an increasingly competitive national and global landscape, such a strategy would …

Government response. The Government welcomes the Committee’s recognition of the value of the UK hosting major events, and the benefits these have provided to the nation over the past decade, domestically and in terms of our global reputation. 2022 is set to …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2 Recommendation Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport…

The lack of guaranteed funding for UK City of Culture hosts creates unnecessary uncertainty and...

The lack of guaranteed funding for UK City of Culture hosts creates unnecessary uncertainty and risks undermining other fundraising efforts. The Government should guarantee successful hosts of UK City of Culture an appropriate amount of national funding from the outset, rather than require the host to wait for a decision, …

Government response. The UK City of Culture title galvanises local, national and international partners, boosts local pride and attracts considerable inward public, lottery, philanthropic and private sector investment. The Government is committed to working with and supporting the winner of the 2025 …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
3 Recommendation Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport…

The recommendations and reforms proposed in the fan led review of football governance should not...

The recommendations and reforms proposed in the fan led review of football governance should not be hanging over the Football Association as it goes into a bidding process for the 2028 EUFA EURO. The Government must ensure implementation of the review’s principal recommendation, the establishment of the independent regulator for …

Government response. The Government is fully committed to reforming football governance to enable a long- term, sustainable future for the game. We have already set out in principle our support for a new independent football regulator, and are now working at pace …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
4 Conclusion Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport…

Since the event’s inception in 2018, the aims for Festival UK* 2022/Unboxed: Creativity in the...

Since the event’s inception in 2018, the aims for Festival UK* 2022/Unboxed: Creativity in the UK have been vague and ripe for misinterpretation by the press and public at large. We see no evidence to refute such scepticism now. The desire for it to seemingly cater to everyone, everywhere, is …

Government response. The Government disagrees with the Committee’s assessment of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK. UNBOXED is an ambitious programme designed to bring people together in a UK-wide celebration of creativity. The programme has clear objectives: to bring people together and showcase …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
5 Conclusion Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport…

Handled sensitively, major events can be an opportunity for communities to reflect on difficult subjects...

Handled sensitively, major events can be an opportunity for communities to reflect on difficult subjects and grow from them. Organisers and stakeholders, including the media, should not shy away from interrogating potential fault lines, but carefully assess and manage cultural risks accordingly.

Government response. The Government shares the Committee’s view that major events offer valuable opportunities to foster constructive dialogue on important issues, and can provide a focal point to consider social issues if handled sensitively. For instance, in February 2022 the Commonwealth Games …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
6 Recommendation Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport…

The listed events regime is vital to the UK’s sporting and media landscape, amplifying major...

The listed events regime is vital to the UK’s sporting and media landscape, amplifying major events and enabling the country to capitalise on its investment in them and their stars. As people’s consumption of media content changes, this crucial tool needs to be gold-plated for the future. The Government should …

Government response. The Government recognises the importance of events of national significance being available to as wide an audience as possible, one of the key purposes of the Listed Events Regime. We also recognise that more can be done to support the …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
7 Conclusion Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport…

The news media are vital stakeholders for major events, amplifying them at home and abroad...

The news media are vital stakeholders for major events, amplifying them at home and abroad and delivering greater value for money. Moreover, beyond this purely instrumentalist role, there is an intrinsic value to free and reliable reporting of major events. It is, therefore, concerning to hear of increased restrictions on …

Government response. The Government agrees that effective media coverage of major events is critical to their success, ensuring as broad an audience as possible. There is evidence to suggest that national pride is enhanced by positive and widespread media and TV coverage …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
8 Conclusion Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport…

Legacy programmes and independent evaluation are vital for delivering long-term value for money from major...

Legacy programmes and independent evaluation are vital for delivering long-term value for money from major events. However, current funding structures and limited evaluation periods give the impression that they are not a priority, as illustrated in the case of the Commonwealth Games. To ensure learnings are taken forward from 2022’s …

Government response. The Government agrees that legacy work and evaluation activities are critical to securing long-term value from major events. We disagree with the Committee’s assessment that this is not currently a priority. This can be demonstrated not only with regard to …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
9 Conclusion Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport…

The Government is spending a lot of money on this year’s major events.

The Government is spending a lot of money on this year’s major events. Yet while individual occasions may well deliver memorable moments, we see no golden thread linking the events or tying them to a vision for the future of this country. If the UK is to leverage major events …

Government response. The Government is confident that the 2022 programme of events will play a key part in our journey of renewal as a country after the challenges of recent years, reflecting the diversity within our nation as well as the things …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
10 Recommendation Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport…

Recent years have seen major events policy formed through little more than ministerial fiat, and...

Recent years have seen major events policy formed through little more than ministerial fiat, and nothing illustrates this better than the vague and shape-shifting nature of Unboxed: Creativity in the UK. There is no one in Government with clear ownership for 2022’s programme of events, and few meaningful links between …

Government response. The Government is confident that the 2022 programme of events will play a key part in our journey of renewal as a country after the challenges of recent years, reflecting the diversity within our nation as well as the things …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Oral evidence sessions

4 sessions
Date Witnesses
18 Nov 2021 Carrie Cooke · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nigel Huddleston MP · HM Treasury, Sian Joseph · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport View ↗
19 Oct 2021 Andrew Moger · News Media Coalition, Barbara Slater · BBC, James Hampson · British Council, Simon Morton · UK Sport View ↗
7 Sep 2021 Ian Reid · Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Martin Green · Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Rosanna Machado · The Platinum Jubilee Pageant View ↗
6 Jul 2021 Chenine Bhathena · Coventry City of Culture Trust, Dr Franco Bianchini, Ruth Hollis · Spirit of 2012 View ↗

Correspondence

2 letters
DateDirectionTitle
11 Jan 2022 To cttee Letter from Nigel Huddleston MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Spo…
7 Sep 2021 To cttee Letter from Sir Peter Hendy CBE, Chair, and Lyn Garner, Chief Executive, London…