Placing culture at the heart of the Games: achievements and challenges within the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad

Putting ‘culture at the heart of the Games’ was one of the central promises of the cultural chapter within London 2012’s Olympic Candidature Files and remained a distinct aspiration of the Games’ official cultural programme, including the 4-year Cultural Olympiad (CO) culminating in a 12-week London 2012 Festival in 2012. In London, ‘placing culture at the heart’ signified placing the arts and creative industries at the centre of the Games-hosting process, and thus, throughout this chapter, the reference to ‘culture’ is meant in that sense.