Year of birthday events planned for County
in 2007
Monday 13 March, 2006
A year of festivals and special
events is set to go ahead in 2007, when Oxfordshire celebrates its own
millennium.
Cultural development agency Oxford Inspires has been given the green light
from city and county councils to coordinate the year’s activity,
which will highlight a thousand years of Oxfordshire.
A high profile will be given to the many festivals—more than 70
of them—which are held throughout the county. Also planned are a
number of one-off anniversary celebrations highlighting the faces, stories
and achievements of Oxfordshire. 2007 is also an opportunity to recognise
other anniversaries in Oxfordshire, including Blackbird Leys' 50th year
and the opening of the Diamond Light project at Harwell.
Oxfordshire County Council and
Oxford City Council will be contributing an additional £200,000
over the two-year period 2006–2008. £100,000 is being allocated
for marketing the 2007 programme and raising its profile both within the
county and beyond. £100,000 will be allocated to kick start selected
special cultural and sporting events, including Go with the Flow, based
on the waterways of Oxfordshire, and The Faces Of Oxfordshire. The extra
money is in addition to existing funding for Oxford Inspires' core costs.
Oxford Inspires' core funding
comes from Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, the University
of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University and Arts Council England, South East.
This pays for the staff and administrative costs of Oxford Inspires.
Chief executive Robert Hutchison said today: "We are absolutely delighted
that Oxford City and Oxfordshire County Councils have acknowledged in
this way the importance of cultural activity in the social and economic
growth of the county. 2007 will be a very special year in the history
of Oxford and Oxfordshire. As the only city in the South East to be named
City of Culture, Oxford enhanced its status in 2005 with Evolving City,
a successful programme of events funded by the lottery and the Arts Council.
We shall have to work harder for our money in 2007 but we aim to make
the year a memorable one by encouraging people to take more advantage
of the wealth of choice that exists in the region. It's that richness
and diversity which makes Oxford and Oxfordshire so exceptional."
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