24/06/2004

Public invited to Lottery's 10th birthday celebrations

Hundreds of Lottery-funded projects will open their doors for free to celebrate the National Lottery's 10th birthday, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has announced.

The events will start over the summer and continue up to the 10th birthday weekend on November 6.

English Heritage will give free entry to all Lottery-funded projects, 25 National Trust properties will open specially for the birthday weekend and people will get the chance to try new sports for free at their local Lottery-funded sports centre. Other plans include a tea dance at the Opera House and special 'free lunches'.

Tessa Jowell said: "These celebrations are our chance to show just how successful the Lottery has been. It creates winners. It changes lives. It transforms communities."

She went on to announce plans for more public involvement in the Lottery. Local people will get the power to decide where grants worth up to £500 are spent, with pilots taking place in Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands and the South East.

The Big Lottery Fund will also be piloting four new ways to involve the public in deciding where Lottery money goes. Postcards at ticket stands will ask people if and how they would like to get involved in setting priorities for Lottery funding in their area. An internet discussion forum will also enable people to give their views.

Opinion research on where the public want their money to go and how they would like to be involved will be carried out, and television will be used to give the public a vote on a major grant.

Tessa Jowell said: "We are giving the Lottery back to the people. We want to make sure that it responds more to peoples' priorities, through the greater involvement of lottery players in how lottery money is spent."

(gmcg)

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