This year marks the 15th anniversary of the National Lottery. This landmark has given the HLF a chance to join in the celebrations and sharing the difference lottery funding has made to our heritage over the last 15 years. Over that time HLF’s  funding has not only revitalised hundreds of museums, parks, historic buildings, landscapes and wildlife sites, but also given new meaning to heritage itself, involving people from every walk of life in the heritage that inspires them.

In our nine English regions and in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales we’ve been telling the story of the difference our funding has made to communities across the Untied Kingdom. Here are just a few examples of what we have done and a taster of what’s to come.

In London HLF celebrated the diversity of the capital’s heritage by hosting an exhibition in City Hall as part of the Mayor Boris Johnson’s cultural initiative, Story of London, highlighting 15 fascinating heritage and community projects from almost every London Borough.

Belfast’s St George’s Market played hosted to ‘Fifteen Years Young’ a young people’s event showcasing projects that illustrated the breadth of young people’s involvement in every aspect of Northern Ireland’s heritage.

In Govan in Glasgow hundreds of local people gathered at the historic Pearce Institute to celebrate the area’s fascinating history and share their fondness for its character and traditions.

Most recently, the East of England team invited an audience of local politicians, heritage organisations, volunteers and the public to the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmonds to mark 15 years of  the National Lottery by showcasing film and performance created through HLF funded projects.

The audience then joined a panel including Anthea Case, Chair of Heritage Link, and Tony Butler, Director of the Museum of Anglian Life, in a debate about the future of our heritage.

Still to come

In the East Midlands people are being asked to take photographs of public parks across the regions. These winning images will be featured in an exhibition at the HLF funded Newark Castle Gardens in Nottinghamshire in December.

Also in December young film makers from the North East’s Northern Stars film academy will show their completed film, “Fifteen” at the historic Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle. This production will tell the story of the impact of HLF’s funding across the region East through the creative eyes of the young directors and production team.