Singer Tom Grennan surprises shoppers to celebrate The National Lottery's impact on Performance Art
21st October 2019
Singer-songwriter Tom Grennan delivered an impromptu, busking style performance in Coventry today as part of a thank-you moment to National Lottery players who have helped invest over £2.2billion into the performing arts over the past 25 years.
Singer-songwriter Tom Grennan delivered an impromptu, busking style performance in Coventry today as part of a thank you moment to National Lottery players who have helped invest over £2.2billion into the performing arts over the past 25 years.
Standing in front of Coventry’s Lady Godiva monument, guitar case open, and just a mic and his guitarist, the ‘Found What I’ve Been Looking for’ singer, treated crowds in Coventry to his huge Top Ten hit at Broadgate in the centre of Coventry - City of Culture 2021.
He was joined by Coventry’s own Godiva Academy of Performing Arts, who performed at a National Lottery funded event to announce Coventry as the City of Culture 2021 in March this year and also local dancers from the East Midlands Carribean Carnival Arts Network who themselves have received funding from the National Lottery.
Tom shot to fame last year, seeing out 2018 with a top 5 debut album and a sold-out nationwide tour. He also recently made it into the Guinness Book Of Records® for performing the highest number of concerts (ten) in 12 hours.
The National Lottery has invested over £2.2 billion in 29,251 projects to help develop a diverse range of performance arts in England, spanning theatre, dance and music.
Over 44,000 theatre, dance and music projects that support the development of the performance arts sector in the UK, have been made possible thanks to National Lottery funding over the last 25 years.
Some of the UK’s well-known theatres and performers have been funded by The National Lottery over the last 25 years, including the English National Ballet and the BAFTA award winning adaption of ‘Ugly Duckling’ by Northern Ballet.
“It is great to perform in Coventry, the City of Culture 2021, as part of the The National Lottery 25th birthday celebrations. The £2.2 billion they have contributed to the performing arts has been instrumental in helping support UK talent and elevating important projects close to our hearts. Performing my song Found What I’ve Been Looking For, alongside Coventry’s leading performers, is a perfect way to showcase the variety of different projects that The National Lottery supports across the nation.”
Tom Grennan
“Over the past 25 years National Lottery funds have helped us transform the arts and cultural offer in England: investing in new buildings like Nottingham Contemporary and The Lowry in Salford, supporting artists and smaller organisations through National Lottery Project Grants, and developing programmes like Creative People and Places, targeting areas where people have traditionally been less engaged in the arts. We’re very grateful to National Lottery players for helping support arts and culture across the country and look forward to seeing the impact of National Lottery funding over the next 25 years.”
Darren Henley, CEO, Arts Council England
Tom’s performance is part of a season of events to celebrate The National Lottery’s 25th Birthday. Since the National Lottery began, over 565,000 individual grants have been awarded across the UK. That’s the equivalent of 200 life-changing projects in every UK postcode district. More than £40 billion has been raised for good causes in the areas of arts, sport, heritage, culture, film, charity and community.
We want to say thank you to National Lottery players for contributing around £30 million to good causes every week. The 25th Birthday National Lottery celebrations are a great opportunity to do just that.
Case studies
Aina More is a rapper, singer and MC from London. She began writing and rhyming in playground rap battles at her secondary school in South London and in 2014 she won an event organised by Urban Development, an initiative devoted to helping young people trying to make it in the world of urban music. A year later she won the Big Music Project, a National Lottery-backed scheme.
The Big Music Project started in 2014 and wound up four years later after helping thousands of young people with dreams of making it as a performer. Urban Development, which is also funded by The National Lottery, continues to encourage youth to both listen to live music and make it themselves.
Notes to editors
Notes to Editors
For any further information related to this story, please contact the team on Thunderball@freuds.com or 07872011751.
Pictures, interviews and case studies of people and projects who have benefitted from National Lottery funding are available on request.
For further information, case studies and images, please contact Sinead Gilgunn on 07971 367 597/ 0207 211 1651 or email sinead.gilgunn@lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
About The National Lottery’s 25th Birthday
The National Lottery’s Birthday celebrations are running for a five-week period (from 14 Oct until the end of November). There are some incredible activities planned across the UK to celebrate the good causes that have been made possible thanks to National Lottery players over the last 25 years.
Since The National Lottery’s first draw took place on 19 November 1994, more than £40 billion has been raised for good causes in the areas of arts, sport, heritage and community.
The 25th birthday is a moment to celebrate the extraordinary impact The National Lottery has had on the UK, and to say thank you to National Lottery players for contributing around £30 million to good causes every week.
Tom Grennan surprised shoppers in Coventry today with an impromptu performance. He was joined in the performance by local performance art projects from the Midlands