Although the Cultural Olympiad is primarily financed by the Olympic Lottery Distribution, the Arts Council’s partnership is key to the event’s programme of cultural activity.
The council had committed £7m to its Artists Taking the Lead initiative – its flagship project for the Olympiad – yet according to Locog, it won’t be clear until next year whether this contribution will be reduced.
Organisers of the Manchester International Festival, which currently draws around 10% of its funding from the body, have said the biennial event will still go ahead in 2011, but plans for 2013 may have to be ‘scaled back’.
A new funding framework will be announced next week (4 November) with individual funding decisions for 2012-2015 being made by the end of March 2011.
"These are severe cuts, made worse by the fact that around 80% of them have to come in the first two years of the settlement," said Arts Council England chair Liz Forgan.
"We are determined to lead the arts through this tough period, using all our knowledge, expertise, and brokering skills, and drawing on the resourcefulness and imagination around us," she added.
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