Bid to get kids into music is top fund recipient

The worthy ‘Music Promise’ scheme - designed to get as many young people from Londonderry as possible involved in music-making - was the number one recipient of £16m available City of Culture programme funding, the Sentinel can reveal.
By Kevin Mullan
Published 21st Dec 2013, 16:27 BST
©/Lorcan Doherty Photograph 3rd December 2013. Music Promise Showcase Concert in St. Columb's Hall. Lisneal College Jazz Band. Photo Lorcan Doherty Photography©/Lorcan Doherty Photograph 3rd December 2013. Music Promise Showcase Concert in St. Columb's Hall. Lisneal College Jazz Band. Photo Lorcan Doherty Photography
©/Lorcan Doherty Photograph 3rd December 2013. Music Promise Showcase Concert in St. Columb's Hall. Lisneal College Jazz Band. Photo Lorcan Doherty Photography

The project received £1.41m and was one of just three events to receive one million or more of the total £16m set aside for programming.

The other projects to reach the £1m high water mark were the Return of Colmcille (£1.07m) pageant and Lumiere (£1m).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Sentinel can today reveal all of the top 40 recipients of the £16m fund. All the projects listed below received between £100k and £1.41m. Dozens of other events received grant awards that were less than £100k.

The top recipients were as follows: What’s the Big Idea (£625k); Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (£600k); Return of Field Day (£490k); Turner Prize (£449k); Portrait of a City (£400k); Millennium Forum (£390k); Other Voices (£380k); Hofesch Shecter - Political mother (£340k); Spotlight on Communities (£300k); Verbal Arts Centre (£282k); Shirt Factory project (£275k); Void programme (£267k); Music City (£265k); Playhouse programme (£264k); popular music concerts (£263k); direct programme overheads (£248k); Nerve Centre projects (£220k); sports events (£210k); individual artists programme (£200k); Ebrington Tattoo (£175k); Sons and Daughters (£175k); Peace Camp (£172k); NI Opera production (£170k); Echo Echo programme (£156k); Prime Cut - The Conquest of Happiness (£150k); Farquhar Festival (£150k); Schools programme (£150k); Celtronic (£144k); Peace One Day (£144k); Phil Coulter concerts (£141k); London Symphony orchestra (£125k); City of London Festival programme (£125k); GAA programme £121k); Digital Book of Kells (£115); Waterside Theatre programme (£100k); Picturing Derry (£100k); and Radio 1 One Big Weekend (£100k).

Town Clerk Sharon O’Connor revealed the funding in response to a Freedom of Information request.

She stated: “The City of Culture Project has extended to several hundred projects, covering visual arts to dance, music to community participation, heritage, film, literature, education and digital skills projects. Projects have been delivered by a range of organisations, from small local groups to national and international arts organisation. The expenses have been managed across 3 key budgets – operations (£2.7m), programming (£16.0m) and marketing (£2.1m).”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She advised that the total “pre-optimism bias programme cost” was £14,102,000, whilst an optimism bias approved for unforeseen costs came to £1,885,000.

The total programme cost including the optimism bias comes to £15,987,000.