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Blair: I have fostered a golden age for arts
By Paul Waugh, Evening Standard 06.03.07
The giant slides at the world-beating Tate Modern
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Tony Blair hailed Britain's "golden age" of the arts today as he revealed London now rivals New York and Paris in numbers of visitors to galleries, museums and theatre.
In a clear counter-attack to recent complaints about cuts in funding, the Prime Minister used a speech at Tate Modern to claim there had been a "quiet revolution" in the creative industries over the past 10 years.
Citing Helen Mirren's Oscar-winning role in The Queen, Mr Blair said that the arts in all their forms were enjoying a renaissance with record attendances and booming income.
Cities outside London had also been transformed with regeneration from new galleries and museums, while the creative industries were growing faster than the rest of the economy, he said.
Mr Blair spoke as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's 10-year audit of the arts claimed more people than ever are visiting arts venues and working in the sector.
Spending has more than doubled from £186million in 1997 to £412million today, he said. Policies such as free admission to museumsand galleries had boosted attendances by 83 per cent.
Mr Blair's praise for the arts - something critics have claimed he has been reluctant to give before - follows a meeting last week with Tony Hall of the Royal Opera House, Nicholas Hytner of the National Theatre and Sir Nicholas Serota of the Tate.
Giving one of his farewell lectures, Mr Blair made clear he felt that a vibrant arts scene was one of the legacies he could leave.
He said a combination of private and public money had turned Britain's arts leaders into "world-class entrepreneurs". Private investment in culture now exceeds £500 million a year, and is growing by more than two per cent over inflation each year. Today's report, Culture And Creativity 2007, shows that:
* Theatre in the UK has an economic impact of £2.6 billion.
* Free admission to galleries and museums had led to nearly 30 million extra visits since 2001.
* The creative industries account for more than seven per cent of the economy and are growing at five per cent per annum - faster than the economy as a whole. They employ nearly two million people.
* The music industry contributes £6billion to the economy and employs 130,000 people.
Mr Blair pointed out that Tate Modern is now the most popular modern art gallery in the world, with more visitors than New York's Museum of Modern Art and Paris's Pompidou Centre.
Thriving theatre also leads to awards all round the world. The National Theatre production of Alan Bennett's The History Boys won six Tony Awards last year.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell added: "Every one of the UK's Oscar- winning actors and actresses of recent years, including Helen Mirren, started by treading the boards in the theatre."
Mr Blair praised big business companies such as BT, BP, Travelex and UBS, Morgan Stanley for backing contemporary culture.
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