Igniting Ambition

Igniting Ambition is a five year cultural programme of summer festivals and events in the East Midlands, building up to the staging of the London 2012 Games. The programmes mission is "to ignite ambition in the region and to celebrate the hosting of the Olympics and the Paralympic Games, by building capacity through a series of partnerships delivering a different showcase each year, culminating during 2012 in a unique, region wide festival of cultural events."

Igniting Ambition Festival 2012

The Igniting Ambition Festival 2012 will be a celebration of what has been achieved by Igniting Ambition in the past four years with high profile projects and celebratory events taking place across the region. A highlight of the festival will include After Gold, a series of new commissions from Radar by internationally recognised Japanese artists, including Akio Suzuki, MOMUS and Tatzu Nishi, to celebrate the presence of the Japanese Olympics team at Loughborough University.

Previous Igniting Ambition festivals include:

UK Special Olympics Cultural Programme (24 July-2 August 2009)

The Special Olympics GB National Summer Games was held in Leicester from 25-31 July 2009. Over 2700 athletes, 1200 coaches and 1500 volunteers took part, representing 19 Special Olympics regions across the UK.

An exciting week-long cultural showcase, the Igniting Ambition Festival accompanied the staging of the Special Olympics. This reflected the theme of diversity and included a spectacular opening ceremony produced by Mahogany Arts, a new integrated dance commission One Night Only by Foot in Hand, and performances and participatory events taking place at venues and public spaces across the city.

Igniting Ambition Festival 2010 (Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Nottinghamshire)

Igniting Ambition Festival 2010 was created through a partnership of six local authorities responsible for each of the three cities and counties. Igniting Ambition invested in a range of projects which developed innovative, high quality work, providing new opportunities for local communities to participate, engage in and enjoy world-class cultural events that celebrated their region and its relationship with the rest of the world.