Evaluating Scotland’s London 2012 Cultural Programme

SUMMER OF SONG Introduction The Olympic Flame was carried around Scotland as part of the Torch Relay from 8th-14th June 2012 and was one the main Olympic events hosted on Scottish soil. In this case study, three main elements of the Olympic Torch Relay ceremonies are presented: Summer of Song, Keep Her Lit and CitizenRelay.

Summer of Song was designed as a framework that outlined a range of programming options based on song and singing, which local authorities adopted and interpreted depending on the nature and scale of their existing ambitions around animating the route of the Olympic Torch Relay. The project provided support to all participating Scottish local authorities through which the Olympic Torch Relay passed. It enabled them to engage local people in presenting their own distinctive and authentic identity and spirit - within a unifying national celebration. The project’s ambition was to bring to life the places the torch passed through on its route round Scotland through song. The Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop said: ‘As the Olympic Torch travels through Scotland, the ‘Summer of Song’ will shine a light on the best of our creativity and musical talent. With this year being the Year of Creative Scotland, it is an ideal opportunity to showcase our nation’s creative strengths in the run up to London 2012 and to the Commonwealth Games in 2014.’

The project was endorsed by EventScotland, the Scottish Government and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), while Creative Scotland and its local authority partners provided £251,773 to support its delivery. Creative Scotland funding was £183,287 whilst local authorities provided £46,350 in cash and £22,136 in kind investment. Creative Scotland was also funding £43,000 to commission artist Roddy Buchanan to produce the film Keep Her Lit to capture the Summer of Song and create a lasting chronicle of the people, landscapes and cities that the Torch Relay travelled through during a week in June 2012. A copy of the DVD was made available to participating local authorities and the film received a public premiere at the Glasgow Film Theatre in August 2012.

The final part of the Torch Relay-related cultural investment was for CitizenRelay (#citizenrelay), a participatory arts and media project which trained citizen journalists using everyday digital technologies to report on the alternative stories and creative ways that communities across Scotland interacted with the Olympic and Paralympic Games and, in particular, the Torch Relay. Creative Scotland provided £15,000 to support this University of the West of Scotland-led project that culminated in a week-long roadtrip in a mobile broadcast unit following the Torch and, where possible, animating the Summer of Song celebrations. This case study is structured around three key impact areas; quality artistic production and experience, audience participation and development; and contribution to place identity.

QUALITY ARTISTIC PRODUCTION AND EXPERIENCE KEY DRIVER: Artistic quality was not the key driver for the project; local authorities were encouraged to work with local schools, community groups, artists and musicians to create events that came from the heart and reflected their local culture.

One of the objectives of Scotland’s London 2012-Glasgow 2014 Cultural Plan was to ‘present an inspiring programme of cultural activity that resulted in meaningful cultural experiences.’ Summer of Song created a unique opportunity for all Scotland’s local authorities to get involved in a major Olympic event. Although quality artistic production was not the primary aim of this project, Summer of Song did help initiate a number of new commissions across Scotland and these were of appropriately high quality. Amongst these new musical commissions were ‘The Things We Love’

by Dougie Maclean, ‘For the islands We Sing’ by Douglas Montgomery and Brian Cromarty, ‘An Olympic Air’ by Alan Penman and ‘Rising Wave’ by Kenneth Dempster. Moreover, the commission of Roddy Buchanan to produce the film documenting the Summer of Song project was an example of a commitment to quality artistic production. Roddy’s film was premiered at the Glasgow Film Theatre and has also been broadcast online on via the Art Council Englandled The SPACE Initiative, hosted by the BBC. The film captures the reaction of audiences around Scotland to their local songs and their experiences will be shared and retold as the film travels around Scotland for screenings in the areas where it was produced.

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