Children from Cambridge and London are showing their creativity by taking part in a marathon songwriting project, with the forthcoming Olympics being the central theme.Budding songwriters from 26 schools will be involved in the Sports Tracks Songwriting Marathon, where they must write 26 songs in just 26 days, in a programme designed to help children celebrate the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The project is being run by the Nathan Timothy Foundation, a charity which aims to empower young people through the art and craft of songwriting.
Explaining the idea behind the project, chief executive of the charity, Nathan Timothy, said: “Our vision is to unite children of all backgrounds and cultures, helping them to create their own special memories linked to these Games, whilst also ensuring there is an educational legacy in place after the 2012 Games are over.”
They will create original songs and music, with one marathon running for each of the Games, and the children will record their compositions during a one-day workshop. The works will then be performed and uploaded to the charity’s website.
And giving the programme additional backing is the London Olympics themselves, as the marathon has been listed under the Inspire programme.
Run by Olympics organisers LOCOG, Inspire is a broad participation programme across all sectors that recognises projects inspired by the sporting event. So far, 1,500 projects have been awarded an Inspire mark.
“I am proud that with the help of partners such as the Nathan Timothy Foundation, we are delivering our vision to use the power of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to boost participation in sports, literacy and music education,” LOCOG chair Seb Coe said.
Music will play a huge role in the London Olympics and the theme of the closing ceremony will be A Symphony of British Music, celebrating Britain’s strongest cultural export for the past 50 years.
Check out this video from the Nathan Timothy Foundation below.