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Ruth Mackenzie to mastermind Cultural Olympiad
Louise Jury13 Jan 2010
The job of masterminding a world-class arts festival in London for the 2012 Olympics has been awarded to government adviser Ruth Mackenzie.
Ms Mackenzie, 52, who ran the Nottingham Playhouse and Scottish Opera before advising a succession of Culture Secretaries, has been named the £130,000 director of culture after a drawn-out interview process.
The Cultural Olympiad was a key part of London's Olympic bid. But the project, which has an £80 million budget, had become mired in fears that no one was taking charge.
In recognition of the tight turnaround Ms Mackenzie will have a team of part-time paid advisers. This includes Sir Brian McMaster, former head of the Edinburgh International Festival; Alex Poots, director of the Manchester International Festival, and Martin Duncan, with whom she ran Chichester Festival Theatre.
They will be joined by Craig Hassall, managing director of the English National Ballet. All will report to Tony Hall, chief executive of the Royal Opera House who heads the new board behind the Cultural Olympiad.
Reader views (6)
I know from the productions arranged through the Nottingham Playhouse exactly how superb an artistic director Ruth Mackenzie is. I welcome the artistic, entertainment, stage management and cutural side of these games from a renound group of people. Why choose a sports person for the artistic side? Let the sports people take care of the actual sports and not be worried about the entertainment.
- Tailor, Nottingham, 11/02/2010 12:51
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Snore...same old, same old, same old
- David, London, 27/01/2010 01:06
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What would a sports woman know about getting an arts festival together?
- Sccoterman, Surrey, UK, 14/01/2010 21:15
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Yes, fantastic point Laurence. Of course a sportswoman would be a much better choice to run a cultural olympiad than someone who has run both a national opera company and one of the most respected theatre producers in the country.
I hear Tessa Sanderson is a massive installation art fan.
- Dug James, london, 14/01/2010 10:41
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A disappointing appointment of a non-sporstwoman, one of the big mouths of New Labour's cultural policy - all vacuous nonsense and defecits. Was this job advertised?
- Laurence, London, 13/01/2010 21:24
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I wish somebody would offer me a job like this,how does one qualify ?? or do you need to know someone?.
- Davey_Bouy, Chertsey, 13/01/2010 18:24
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