Twelve ways you made 2014 memorable
There are many good reasons to be proud of all you’ve achieved last year. To celebrate 2014, we’ve picked 12 of them.
1. 22,000 local projects funded in 2014
It's been a year when you've changed communities across the UK. National Lottery funding stretches the length and breadth of the UK - the northernmost grant ever awarded was to the community of Unst in the Shetland Isles and the most southerly grant was to the Isles of Scilly. To find out what projects are supported near you visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
2. GB wins gold at Sochi 2014
It was an emotional moment when alpine skier Kelly Gallagher (pictured), with her guide Charlotte Evans, became the first-ever Paralympics GB athlete to win a gold medal at the Sochi 2014 Paralympics. And Team GB put in a sterling effort in the Olympics, equalling the best-ever medal tally set in 1924. National Lottery funding has helped elite athletes win 633 Olympic and Paralympic medals since funding began in 1997.
3. Mr Turner goes to Cannes
Lottery-funded Mr Turner premiered to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival this May, with Timothy Spall winning Best Actor for the title role. Telling the story of great British landscape artist JMW Turner and directed by Mike Leigh, the film benefited from £1,035,000 of Lottery money and is hotly tipped for the BAFTAs – watch this space…
4. 70 years since D-Day landings
On the 6 of June 1944, British troops landed on the beaches at Normandy – and the 'D-Day' landings became one of the most significant turning points of the Second World War. Since 2004, over £28 million has been awarded to over 57,000 Second World War veterans, widows and carers to visit the battlefields where they or their loved ones saw action.
5. The re-opening of the Olympic Park
The legacy of London 2012 – and £2.2 billion in lottery funding – lives on with the reopening of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 5 April. Visitors can now enjoy 230 hectares (560 acres) of public space, 4,300 new trees and five sporting venues.
6. Bletchley re-opens
Historians believe the top-secret code-breaking carried out at Bletchley Park shortened the Second World War by at least two years. More than £5 million of lottery funding was awarded to restore key code-breaking huts and create a world-class visitor centre, which opened in June 2014.
7. The Tour de France tours England
This summer Le Tour ran through Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and London, and was cheered en route by 4.8 million people. The massive cycling event inspired 2 million spectators to get on a bike more frequently** – so it's a good thing the National Lottery-funded National Cycle Network runs within two miles of 75% of the population.
8. Everyone's a winner at Glasgow 2014
The Commonwealth Games were full of iconic moments, from Usain Bolt getting down to The Proclaimers, to the moment when Erraid Davies from Shetland became the youngest-ever winner of a Commonwealth medal at just 13 after winning a bronze in the Para-sport 100m breast-stroke. But it wasn't just athletes who felt your support – you also helped make possible venues such as Hampden Park and the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, as well as the hugely successful volunteer programmes.
9. Dylan Thomas's centenary
2014 was the centenary of the birth of one of the world's greatest poets, Dylan Thomas. To mark the occasion the Dylan Thomas Centre opened a new exhibition showcasing some of Thomas's previously unseen notebooks – made possible with £935,700 of lottery funding.
10. The National Lottery turns 20
The National Lottery has been changing lives since 1994. Thanks to you, we're able to raise £33 million a week – that's £32 billion over the past 20 years - for good causes all over the UK. Not only that, but the majority (70%) of lottery-funded grants are for £10,000 or less, so you know you're helping small projects make a big difference in their – and your – community.
11. The Centenary of the First World War
2014 marked 100 years since Britain entered the First World War, with fighting continuing until November 11 1918. Over 1,000 First World War-related projects have benefitted from more than £60 million in funding to help explore and explain the stories around it and to keep the memories alive for new generations.
12. Building community with The Big Lunch
On June 1 2014, 4.83 million people sat down to have lunch together. It was all part of the lottery-funded Big Lunch, a simple idea started by The Eden Project, which aims to get as many people in the UK as possible to have lunch with their neighbours for a few hours of community, friendship and fun. Just imagine the length of the table…
**Source – Three Inspirational Days: Impact of the UK stages of The Tour de France 2014
The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 7,000 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.
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