Open up your heritage to new visitors during National Lottery Open Week 2022

Open up your heritage to new visitors during National Lottery Open Week 2022

Adult and child entering historic building.
Powys Castle is offering free entry to National Lottery players. © National Trust Images/Megan Tayl
Has your project received National Lottery funding? Sign up to National Lottery Open Week to say #ThanksToYou to players – and reach new visitors and supporters along the way.

Since The National Lottery’s first draw took place on 19 November 1994, more than £40billion has been raised for good causes. That’s over £30million each week, making a huge difference for people and communities across the UK.

More than 625,000 projects have received National Lottery funding during that time. Is your project one of them?

What is The National Lottery Open Week?

Person riding tram
Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire is offering
two-for-one entry between 21-23 March.

The National Lottery Open Week offers you an opportunity to say a big #ThanksToYou to the players who have made your project possible.

During the week, organisations across the UK – including many in the heritage sector – make a special offer to visitors who bring a National Lottery ticket or scratchcard with them. 

This year the week is taking place between 19 and 27 March 2022.

Why take part?

The week provides a direct chance to thank National Lottery players and let them know the difference their support has made for you.

It’s also a fantastic opportunity to benefit from Open Week’s promotional campaign, which can help you reach new visitors and welcome previous visitors back. 

In 2021, almost 25,000 National Lottery players were able to access 650 special offers across the UK. 70% of visitors who responded to The National Lottery’s survey said they'd either never visited the venue before or hadn’t in the past two years.

70% of visitors who responded to The National Lottery’s survey said they'd either never visited the venue before or hadn’t in the past two years.

How to take part

Sign up by Monday 7 February for the chance to be featured in Open Week’s national publicity campaign. You will also be amongst the first to receive a promotional toolkit.

What does a special offer look like?

From free entry to behind-the-scenes tours, a complimentary gift or cup of tea and cake, there are many ways to get involved.  

What other projects are doing this year:

  • People sitting on benches outside historic building next to the river on a sunny day
    Devon’s Coldharbour Mill is offering half-price entry
    Manchester institution Band on the Wall re-opens in March and will offer 20% off all events.
  • SS Great Britain in Bristol, the world’s first great ocean liner, will have over 1,000 free tickets available for National Lottery players to book online.
  • Devon’s Coldharbour Mill, one of the oldest woollen textile mills in the world, will be offering half price entry.
  • Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire, home of the National Tramway Museum, will offer two-for-one day entry from 21-23 March.
  • St Nicholas Priory, Exeter’s oldest building, will offer a free guidebook as part of a visit.
  • The National Trust will be opening up over 140 sites with free entry, including; Powis Castle in Wales, built around 1200 as a medieval fortress; Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland, one of the finest houses in the North East; and Knole in Kent, originally built as an archbishop’s palace, with a parkland still populated by wild deer.
     

For more inspiration, The National Lottery have pulled together a list of offers from participants in previous years.

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