Discovering Places Guidance Document

The launch of Discovering Places 23 – 25 July 2010: how to join in“Inspiring the UK to discover their local environment– with all its hidden places and extraordinary spaces and the stories waiting to be told”What is Discovering Places?Discovering Places is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.Everybody has hidden gems on their doorstep but few of us have discovered them or the stories theyhave to tell. Discovering Places aims to change that. The project will intrigue and surprise people,giving them the opportunity to discover, explore and be inspired by the UK’s hidden gems. These mightbe historic or contemporary buildings, public spaces or natural places in and around the cities, townsand villages where we live and work.Discovering Places will be delivered through a series of weekend events, projects and collaborationsstarting over the weekend of 23 - 25 July and running right up to the end of the Paralympic Games inSeptember 2012. It will excite new audiences and find new ways of working within the environmentsectors (natural, built and historic) and with new partners in the arts and sport sectors.What is the offer?We are launching Discovering Places on 23 – 25 July as part of London 2012 Open Weekend, theannual UK-wide celebration counting down to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Discovering Placeswill present a distinct aspect focusing on the natural, historic and built environment as part of thisLondon 2012 event.We are looking for events that target new audiences, perhaps with new collaborations between localpartners, with a view to shining a spotlight on their local environment and the fantastic array of thingsjust around the corner from people’s homes and communities.What is the benefit of joining in?• be part of London 2012 through Discovering Places• use the nation’s interest and awareness of London 2012 to reach new audiences• chance to raise your event and/or organisation’s profile• be part of both Open Weekend and Discovering Places’ nationwide media and PR campaign• receive Discovering Places marketing materials• be included in the event listings on the London 2012 website• gain further opportunities to showcase your activity and share people’s stories of theirexperience via the London 2012 websiteWhat to do if you want to be part of the launch of Discovering Places?As the launch of Discovering Places is taking place as part of London 2012 Open Weekend the firstthing you have to do is to register your event with London 2012 Open Weekend. Open Weekend isopen to all non-commercial organisations and venues in the UK and asks that your event:• takes place between 23 - 25 July 2010• sets a challenge that the public participate in that encourages people to try something new ortake an interest to the next level. There are many ways to look at how this may work for yourevent with one example being to create a treasure hunt as part of a trail or to set a target as partof a guided walk• is non-commercial and not-for-profit• does not have any commercial sponsorship or offer any similar marketing rights• is open to everyone

The launch of Discovering Places 23 – 25 July 2010: how to join inRegistration is available online at Open Weekend (www.london2012.com/get-involved/openweekend/)where you will be asked to fill in details of your event. It may be useful to think about the challenge andthe description of your event before setting about filling in the form as these details will be used on thewebsite events listings and are non-changeable once submitted.Half way down the online form you will find a tick box asking if you want to be considered forDiscovering Places. This is open to any event focused on attracting new audiences to the natural, builtor historic environment and free at the point of entry. Tick this box to show you are interested in yourevent being part of the launch of Discovering Places.On receipt of your online application, the Open Weekend team check that your event meets theiroverall requirements and sets a challenge for the public. If they have any queries about your event theywill get in touch with you. If your application is accepted as an Open Weekend event and you haveticked the Discovering Places box, then your details are forwarded to the Discovering Places team tosee if your event meets our criteria of:• being free at the point of access• actively engaging participants in either natural, built or historic environment• seeking to attract a new audienceWhat happens next?Events accepted by Discovering Places will receive an email confirming that they are taking part in theDiscovering Places launch weekend and setting out what will happen in the months leading up to 23 –25 July. Any events that are considered more appropriate to be part of Open Weekend will be returnedto this team to contact the event organiser.A series of emails will keep you up to date with information on Discovering Places branding toolkit,marketing and press. Regular updates on how the programme is developing and also informationshared about Open Weekend will also be sent out.Possible questionsAs a fee charging venue how can we participate in Discovering Places?The criterion that events should be free at the point entry is an important one for Discovering Places asour aim is to bring new audiences to the environment. We recognise that this criterion may createdifficulties for some organisers. Possible solutions for where an entry charge would otherwise be madeinclude: holding the Discovering Places event before the point of entry for ticket holders; or operating abooking system for free tickets or wristbands that only allow access to the venue being used for theevent. Participants can then purchase a ticket to go into the venue afterwards if they want to.Does the event have to be new?Inspiring new audiences to discover the environment calls for new ways of doing things. What we needis for organisers to think about how to make an event sufficiently surprising or intriguing to attract a newaudience. You might want to start from an existing event but presented in a new way or with a newangle. Examples of such ideas might be walks around cemeteries uncovering the stories of athletesburied there or a gardener revealing in person stories and highlights in the garden where they work.Is there any funding available?Discovering Places is supporting events by making available marketing material for use by eventorganisers and assisting in a media campaign across the nations and regions. No other funding isavailable for these events from Discovering Places.If you would like any further information about the launch of Discovering Places on 23 – 25 July 2010 orthe rest of the project please contact our Project Co-ordinator Catharine Bull by emailing her onc.bull@theheritagealliance.org.uk.