The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

摘要

The turmoil in the global economy and the spectre of a recession have sharpened the focus of managers working in the creative and cultural industries, both in the UK and around the world. For many, these are the best of times and the worst of times. The best of times, for several reasons: the great progress made in recentyears in increasing government and public recognition of the importance of the arts in people's lives; the huge opportunity that has been presented to the creative industries to showcase British culture to the world through the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad; and the opportunity to reap the benefits of the sector's investment over recent years in the development of cultural leaders. But these are also the worst of times, because of the political, economic and social uncertainty that faces everyone. Many arts organisations have to operate with a small margin between success and failure. Such uncertainty makes the job of managing these organisations tougher, whether in regard to escalating operating costs or a decline in ticket sales, sponsor and donor income or government grants.