The National Lottery is today (19th November) celebrating its 30th birthday by announcing £50 billion has been raised for Good Causes.
The pioneering South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project has been unveiled as one of 30 Game Changing Moments across the UK in an exhibition celebrating the National Lottery’s 30th birthday, which was unveiled this morning at The National Portrait Gallery in London and online. The project’s unprecedented success in restoring a previously low population of golden eagles to record numbers is reflected in the exhibit by renowned photographer and social media influencer Thomas Duke.
The exhibition marks the National Lottery’s 30th birthday and celebrates its impact in raising £50bn for Good Causes. The photographer has used his unique style to highlight some of the most memorable cultural moments of the last three decades made possible with the help of National Lottery funding. I’ve pasted the full official release from the National Lottery below (including the full list of 30 featured moments). All images can be found here and the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project image here.
Speaking at the unveiling, Dr Cat Barlow, Project Manager of the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project said: “It is a huge privilege to see the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project feature alongside such a prestigious list of Game Changing Moments at the National Lottery’s 30th birthday exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
“There has been incredible excitement at our Project’s unprecedented success to date, with record numbers of golden eagles thriving across southern skies, and communities across the region benefitting environmentally, socially and culturally. We are so grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland and National Lottery players for making all of this possible. All that we have achieved is absolutely testament to the generosity of our funders, and the support we have received from so many people, including ecologists, conservation charities, raptor experts, vets, landowners and land managers, as well as fifteen thousand community volunteers and project participants.
“We are now relaunching as a new charity Restoring Upland Nature (RUN) to keep this momentum going and explore opportunities to reintroduce golden eagles into England and Wales. We would be delighted to talk to any funding partners who would like to be part of our continued success.”
This historic double milestone represents one of the largest ongoing funding programmes for Good Causes in the UK’s history.
Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £30 million is raised every week for Good Causes, funding over 700,000 projects across community, heritage, sport and the arts in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In addition to changing the face of communities throughout the nation, more than 7,400 millionaires have been created and over £95 billion paid out in prizes since the launch of The National Lottery in 1994. Scotland has seen 692 millionaires created over this period.
To mark the 30-year anniversary and impact of £50bn in Good Causes funding, 30 Game Changing Moments have been immortalised in an exhibition by photographer Thomas Duke – unveiled at The National Portrait Gallery in London and online today. The photographer has used his unique style to highlight some of the most memorable cultural moments of the last three decades made possible with the help of National Lottery funding. Full images can be found here.
In Scotland the moments include the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project boosting a previously low population of golden eagles to record numbers, the unveiling of The Kelpies, The Flying Scotsman’s Centenary, securing Gigha’s community-ownership, and the first gold medal at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Thomas Duke is known for his project @steppingthroughfilm where iconic photographs are rephotographed within the context of their original location. He travelled the length and breadth of the UK to recreate the moments which recognise our success in sport, arts and film, preserving natural and built heritage and bringing communities together. Actors Michael Sheen and Vicky McClure, Olympian Jess Ennis-Hill and Lioness Chloe Kelly, are among several famous faces featured in the exhibition.
Andria Vidler, CEO of Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery said: “Today marks a remarkable milestone as National Lottery players have now raised £50 billion for Good Causes across the UK. Over 30 years, this hasn’t just been about numbers – it’s been about countless lives changed and communities transformed, while continuing to create millionaires nationwide. As we look forward, our plans to transform The National Lottery are underway and we’re committed to raising even more for these vital Good Causes.”
Neil Ritch, Director for Scotland for The National Lottery Community Fund added: “The Game Changing Moments featured in the 30th Birthday exhibition launched today are the culmination of years of funding, commitment, belief, volunteering, tenacity and much, much more. The National Lottery’s impact on arts, film, heritage, sports, and communities across Scotland is unparalleled. For three decades, it has empowered individuals and communities, enabling thousands of transformative projects. As we celebrate this remarkable achievement, we look forward to building on this legacy and supporting even more Game Changing Moments for future generations.”
Since funding began in 1994, UK athletes have won more than 1,000 Olympic and Paralympic medals. The National Lottery has funded the making of more than 600 films which have won an incredible 551 awards, including 16 Oscars, 128 BAFTAs and 34 Cannes awards. Popular attractions and notable landmarks across the UK such as the Eden Project, the Giant’s Causeway, the Kelpies, the Angel of the North and Wembley and Hampden Stadium have all received support from The National Lottery.
Running alongside these major initiatives are the hundreds of thousands of grants – usually for £10,000 or less – which help small projects to make an amazing difference in their areas.
For the last 30 years no one has done more to change the game in the UK than National Lottery players. But we are just getting started, could National Lottery funding fund your Game Changing Moment? Find out more here: https://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/gamechangers
