The Daily Telegraph

Let’s show we are a cultural force to be reckoned with

- Ben Lawrence

Yesterday, as part of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s spending review, it was announced that Festival UK 2022 (unaffectio­nately known as the Festival of Brexit) was to be granted £29 million. The funding for the festival, which aims to showcase the UK’S artistic and scientific excellence and endeavour across the globe, will come from a previously announced budget of £120 million for the project.

There is no doubt that this will stick in the collective craw of the thousands of workers in the arts sectors made redundant, and the freelancer­s cast adrift as a result of the pandemic, not to mention those organisati­ons for whom our departure from the EU has had an adverse financial effect.

But is the festival really such a bad idea? A lot of the antagonism towards the project no doubt comes from its unofficial title, as the arts is a sector overwhelmi­ngly in favour of Remain. There is also a reluctance within the arts to celebrate Britain; a feeling that the festival denotes a patriotic fervour that is out of step with the current climate where corrective­s are constantly sought for Britain’s imperial past.

This is incredibly sad and more than a little self-defeating. To be able to present ourselves as a cultural force to be reckoned with is a terrific opportunit­y – an assertion of creative confidence and a demonstrat­ion of our diversity. There is also the fact that, currently, the creative sector, which has been hit so hard by the pandemic, would benefit greatly from this chance to promote itself to so many people.

There are historical parallels to the festival, of course. Recently, the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games offered genuine breathtaki­ng spectacle which were talked about for months. But the most obvious connection to Festival UK 2022 (still a working title) is the Festival of Britain, which aimed to generate a sense of recovery after the Second World War and the austerity which followed.

In 1951, millions flocked to London’s South Bank (as well as other exhibition­s and landmarks in the home nations) to see the wonders of the Skylon and the Dome of Discovery and the newly built Royal Festival Hall. Concerts were given, operas and plays were staged, sculptures were unveiled. The festival was deemed a triumphant success both financiall­y and artistical­ly, and indeed helped set the template for the arts and design for a generation.

In fact, the Festival of Britain was much criticised when it was announced by Clement Attlee’s Labour government. Winston Churchill referred to it as “three-dimensiona­l socialist propaganda” and there was a general sense that it was created from a fabric of ideas made up from the radical middle classes who were out of touch with the majority of the electorate.

Of course, this opposition was understand­able and perhaps even partly true. Nearly 70 years later, there is still a whiff of suspicion about such ventures. Brexit highlighte­d, among other things, a cultural divide with Remainers being far more likely to be those who indulged in cultural passions.

I don’t think for one moment that Festival UK 2022 will heal that divide, despite the assertion from Martin Green, the chief creative officer, that it will. I am cynical, perhaps, too cynical, to believe that a beautiful piece of ballet will make us all forget our difference­s, and join together in wonderful political and social unison. We are too class conscious as a nation for that, and the arts, particular­ly the high arts, still remain a barrier in the minds of people who feel that an aria or a concerto or an intellectu­al play are not for the likes of them.

However, I do think that the very idea of the festival could have a positive effect on the collective psyche of the nation. Ironically, we need to look to Europe where any city or town has their own festival. Admittedly they can be terrible (I will never forget an eccentric collection of balloon artistes in Fontainebl­eau), but there is no doubt they generate a considerab­le amount of civic pride.

A festival could have a positive effect on the nation’s psyche

So what should Festival UK 2022 look like? It must represent minority voices and, encouragin­gly, disability groups and minority ethnic talent are already on board. But most important is that the festival becomes a beacon of creative excellence. Those involved so far represent the very best of British artistic talent, including Sonia Friedman Production­s, Welsh National Opera, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and 59 Production­s (whom, you may recall, were responsibl­e for those gorgeous projection­s at the Olympics).

These people know what they’re doing and I just hope their efforts are not derailed by the modern belief, propagated by Arts Council England, that the purpose of the arts is to be participat­ory and that institutio­ns must reach out and involve communitie­s, regardless of what the end result actually looks like. (I admit, I imagine some sort of W1A scenario where some exec pipes up: “How about Holly Willoughby hula-hooping on the river Thames to Stockhause­n? She is terribly popular, you know.”) If this sort of attitude prevails, we will end up with a festival that aims to please everyone and ultimately pleases no one.

The more I think of it, the more – in this year of arts drought – I feel buoyed by the idea of Festival UK 2022. We must champion our arts practition­ers and showcase their talents.

Most of all, we need cheering up. Let’s just put petty self-righteous beliefs to one side and embrace it.

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 ??  ?? Signed up to Festival UK 2022: Welsh National Opera (top left), Alexander Whitley Dance Company (top right and bottom left); the BBC Symphony Orchestra (bottom right)
Signed up to Festival UK 2022: Welsh National Opera (top left), Alexander Whitley Dance Company (top right and bottom left); the BBC Symphony Orchestra (bottom right)

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