Sport and Culture are two areas that the Olympic and Paralympic Games unite together. For example the Cultural Olympiad is the 4 year arts and culture festival leading up to the 2012 Games. For Dorset, this kicked off in September 2008  with the Vele et Vents (Wind & Sails) launch in Weymouth and since a whole host of events and projects have been taking place around Dorset. The greatest sporting event on earth is coming to us here our Dorset door step; sport is naturally a legacy theme that has many opportunities and projects within it. Here is a snippet of what has, is and will be going on in Dorset surrounding Sport and Culture legacy opportunities.

• Inside Out - this acclaimed programme of events will form part of the Cultural Olympiad from 2012 across Dorset.
  
  
• B-Side - this bi-annual Weymouth and Portland based arts project has now achieved the London 2012 Inspired by Mark.
  
  
• Spirit of the Sea cultural events included: Moving Tides Young People's Carnival, Beach Live music, dance, storytelling, Art in the Park, Tudor picnic, a short story competition, pavement art.....to name but a few!
  
  
• RELAYS, the South West region government funded sport and culture legacy programme, has employed two full time RELAYS coordinators for Dorset, based at Bournemouth University.
  
  
• The Jurassic Coast Earth Festival is planned to build up for a grand finale in 2012.

• ‘Count me In. . . . ' regional 2012 linked and ‘Inspired by' events at the end of September 2009 including ‘Dinosaurs not allowed' (young Morris dance troupes) and the ‘Band Stand Marathon'.
  
  
• ‘Coastal Voices' forms part of the ‘Sounds of the Coast' strand of the Jurassic Coast Arts Strategy. Due to start in 2010.
  
  
• ‘Bodyscapes' truly represents the marriage of sport and art and has now achieved a London 2012 Inspired by Mark. It is an exhibition, seminars, talks and workshops that bring together artists and athletes exploring the body and the body extremes.
  
  
• 1,000 days to go before the start of the Olympics on 31 October 2009 has generated a number of community projects. Weymouth College created a video booth to record 1,000 thoughts of young people across Dorset, Team Dorset is collecting 1,000 facts about Dorset and on Portland, Revive have organised a 1,000 days lantern walk.
  
  
• The B-Active programme was launched in Dorset in April 2009; http://www.b-activeindorset.org.uk/
  
  
• Playbuilder - Dorset County Council is working with the Dorset Play Forum to deliver 22 new play areas in Dorset by 2011.
  
  
• Weymouth College has taken over the management and is redeveloping the Redlands Community Sports Hub.
  
  
• Collaboration between The Wey Valley School, Weymouth College and various sports bodies to link developments at both site, could see the creation of two full size, synthetic turf pitches and four, fully covered, tennis courts alongside an athletics track. The funding for the four tennis courts has already been secured.
  
  
• A new skate park will be redeveloped in Underhill on Portland.
  
  
• Dorset County Council and Weymouth College have secured a 2012 ‘AdiZone' - an outside multi gym and play space with WiFi access, targeted at young people. This has been 50% funded by tier 1 London 2012 sponsor Adidas.
  
  
• The Phoenix Legacy project encouraging over 50s to improve their ‘Mind Body and Spirit' was launched in September 2009.
  
  
• Lodmoor trim Trail - Friends of Lodmoor are working towards achieving this outdoor green gym facility ahead of 2012.
  
  
• ‘Sail for a Fiver' scheme continues to engage over 1000 Dorset children per year.
  

The above examples are just a taster of the wide range of projects and legacy programmes that are going on in and around Dorset. Check the News, Sport and Culture pages for regular, more detailed, updates on the different Sport and Culture legacy projects that are happening.