Select Committee · Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Major cultural and sporting events

Status: Closed Opened: 1 Apr 2021 Closed: 1 Jul 2022 6 recommendations 4 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 … Show more

Clear

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

2 items
5 Conclusion Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport… Accepted

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. Read more

Government response AI summary
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, referencing the Commonwealth Games Federation's Athlete Advocacy Guiding Principles and the Birmingham 2022 …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
8 Conclusion Ninth Report - Major cultural and sport… Accepted

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 … Read more

Government response AI summary
The Government agrees that legacy work and evaluation activities are critical to securing long-term value from major events, but disagrees with the Committee’s assessment that this is not currently a priority, pointing to significant additional investments have been made into a range of legacy programmes.
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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 ↗

Who gave evidence

13 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Andrew Moger · Director News Media Coalition 1
Barbara Slater · Director of Sport BBC 1
Carrie Cooke · Deputy Director, Unboxed and City of Culture Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 1
Chenine Bhathena · Creative Director Coventry City of Culture Trust 1
Dr Franco Bianchini 1
Ian Reid · Chief Executive Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games 1
James Hampson · Director, UK & External Affairs British Council 1
Martin Green · Chief Creative Officer Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games 1
Nigel Huddleston MP · Financial Secretary to the Treasury HM Treasury 1
Rosanna Machado · Chief Executive The Platinum Jubilee Pageant 1
Ruth Hollis · Chief Executive Spirit of 2012 1
Sian Joseph · Deputy Director, Ceremonials Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 1
Simon Morton · Chief Operating Officer UK Sport 1

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…