Culture Diary aims to raise UK’s international profile

Organisers and promoters of public and private UK cultural events, across all art forms, are being encouraged to upload information about them to a new online Culture Diary. Designed to support UK organisations with planning, promotion and building partnerships, the Diary builds on a platform set up by the Mayor of London to support the 4,500 cultural events planned in the capital during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Users are being encouraged to register and share information about their short- and long-term event plans, including details of international tours and national campaigns such as First World War Centenary and Shakespeare 400, to provide a strategic overview of cultural activity in the UK.

The site, which has been launched in beta, has come about through a collaboration between Arts Council England, the British Council, the DCMS, the GREAT Britain campaign, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Mayor of London, VisitBritain and UK Trade & Investment, and the information it generates will be used by these organisations to “provide much-valued input for British cultural diplomacy, trade, education and tourism promotion around the world”. The aim is for the site to become a “go-to tool” for arts professionals, event organisers, cultural attachés and marketing and press officers. It hopes to help eliminate programming clashes by improving communication between arts organisations, government and arts development agencies. Events on the site will also be promoted internationally as part of the GREAT Britain campaign. User feedback is welcomed and will be used along with evaluation to make further developments to the site. The new Culture Secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “… cultural diplomacy can build trust and relationships with other countries, helping to drive trade and investment. This new cultural diary along with our Cultural Export Fund will help the UK’s cultural organisations to build on their huge success both at home and abroad, helping underpin the trade deals of tomorrow.”