Beacon Authority - Culture and Sport for Hard to Reach Groups

Open Day

• Learning and Sharing Open Day - Thursday 16 November 2006

Cultural and leisure solutions: Changing communities and improving lives

Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council is one of 8 authorities in the UK to be awarded Beacon status for Culture and Sport for Hard to Reach Groups. The links below provide video footage of the key presentations and information shared at the Beacon Open Day held at the new Shrewsbury Sports Village on the 16th November 2006. The open day was attended by more that 100 organisations and individuals from across the UK who attended to find out about how Shrewsbury & Atcham is delivering real benefits for hard to reach groups through cultural and sporting activities.

Opening and Closing Talks

• Welcome introduction, Robin Hooper, Chief Executive
• Councillor Charles Armstrong, Portfolio Holder Culture and Sport
• Graham Galliers, Director, Galliers Homes

Culture Presentation

Every year people from all over the world head towards the historic cobbles and pavements of Shrewsbury to enjoy and participate in a number of major festivals and special events including the world famous Shrewsbury Flower Show. Since 2003, the town has staged an annual celebration of its famous son Charles Darwin and is part of a national initiative to stage an international campaign to promote the UK in his bi-centenary year, 2009.

Our major festival, the internationally recognised Shrewsbury Summer Season runs each year from June to August with a series of music, visual arts and theatre events, attracting breathtaking entertainment acts from as far afield as Australia, Canada, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands and the United States. 2006 has seen the first Shrewsbury Folk Festival, attracting major names from the roots and world music scene.

Sport Presentation

In 2005 the Borough of Shrewsbury & Atcham was recognised as a future provider of one of only four new Active England Sports Villages in the country. The Shrewsbury Sports Village is nationally recognised by the Football Association as an excellent example of a multi-sport facility. The key strength of the Shrewsbury Sports Village is its range of sporting provision to the community - from climbing walls to martial arts, BMX to squash. This facility is leading the multi-sport agenda.