Express yourself at Eden with Xpress’10

Things will be getting a bit ‘Xtreme at the Eden Project on the weekend of 25 to 26 September, as it hosts the first ever Xpress'10 - RELAYS festival of extreme sports and expressive arts. This unique event marks the half-way point for the RELAYS (Regional Educational Legacy for Art and Youth Sport) project, which aims to combine the creativity and talent of young people and university students across the South West and inspire them to engage with the 2012 London Games.

As the UK looks forward to the London 2012 Games, the South West's legacy project, RELAYS, provides opportunities for young people across the region to get involved with an exciting programme of cultural and sporting festivals and events.

"RELAYS is all about engaging young people in the South West in a way that is meaningful and relevant to them. Not everyone can be, or wants to be, the fastest runner or swimmer, but the sports and art activities we are showcasing here appeal to a wide range of abilities and tastes," explains RELAYS Project Director, Leanne Dingle. "Art, dance, sports fashion, free running and skate boarding, may not have an obvious link to the Games, but they are true to the spirit of London 2012's Inspire programme where everyone is invited to take part and can join in. We are delighted that Xpress'10 has been recognised through the Inspire programme and awarded the Inspire mark, making it part of London 2012's brand family."

Seb Coe, Chair, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: "Xpress'10 is encouraging young people to fulfil their potential. I am proud that, with the help of partners such as Relays, we are delivering on our vision to use the power of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to boost participation in the arts and youth sport across the South West."

Some of the highlights for the RELAYS Xpress'10 include:

• Live performances by the most exciting youth dance and music groups in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, including Camborne's TR14ers and Lyme Regis's B Sharp
• University College Falmouth students from BA(Hons) Fashion Design and BA(Hons) Performance Sportswear Design present a fashion show featuring collections with themes ranging from sustainability to the Great Britain team at the 2012 Games
• Film screenings by young people from across the South West
• A Poetry Café, where you can enjoy an energetic, fun and informal showcase of street style poetry, by Bath Spa University Creative Writing students
• An exhibition of photography, installation and film exploring contemporary surf culture in Cornwall
• An URBANISE Arena, taking place around a new wooden half pipe created specially for the Biennale by local youth led skate carpentry outfit Xtravert
• Free workshops for people to try out alternative sports and their sub-cultures, including free running, skating on the brand new half pipe, graffiti, DJ-ing, street dance and street soccer
• "The choice of the venue was very important to us," said Jo Gardner (RELAYS Cultural Coordinator, the Arts University College at Bournemouth), who along with Virginia Bailey (RELAYS School Events Coordinator Bournemouth University) and Tamsin Godfrey (RELAYS Cultural Coordinator, University College Falmouth) have organised the event. "The Eden Project is iconic to the south west and stands for innovation, imagination and inspiration. We felt that it was a perfect match for our festival."
• Emma Hogg, the Eden Project's Site Wide Live Producer, said: "We're really pleased to be hosting Xpress'10. Eden is all about education and inspiration and we can't wait to see the talents of the south west's students and young people being showcased here. From poetry to breakdancing, it's going to be a unique event and one which will embody the spirit of 2012 brilliantly."

To help make the event as accessible to young people as possible, through funding by the Arts Council England's A Night Less Ordinary scheme, RELAYS is delighted to offer 500 free tickets to young people under 26 years, on first come first served basis.

RELAYS seeks to engage young people in the South West in sporting and cultural events in the run up to the London 2012 Games. Led by Universities South West, through a network of regional universities and cultural organisations, RELAYS aims to blend youth sport and cultural in a vibrant mixture of activities across the region. It is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity that has been set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games and HEFCE (The Higher Education Funding Council for England).

Ends

For full programme of performances and workshops, go to www.edenproject.com or www.universitiessouthwest.ac.uk/relays

For further information about the RELAYS Xpress'10, please contact: Jo Gardner jgardner@aucb.ac.uk or Virginia Bailey at vbailey@bournemouth.ac.uk

Telephone: 01326 253696 

Notes to Editors:

• The regional RELAYS (Regional Educational Legacy in Arts and Youth Sport) is a £3.1million project which will deliver an ambitious, flexible programme of linked cultural and sporting events. The project is grounded in education and aims to inspire a generation of young people and diverse communities throughout South West England. RELAYS is run by Universities South West in conjunction with its partners Lyme Regis Development Trust, The Works and Watershed. The project is funded by Legacy Trust UK and HEFCE. Website: www.universitiessouthwest.ac.uk/RELAYS
• Universities South West is the regional higher education association for South West England. It provides a forum for the 13 Universities and Higher Education Colleges in the region to work together. It aims to extend higher education's contribution to sustainable regional development and to influence and shape the social and economic agenda in the South West region by appropriate joint action. Website: www.universitiessouthwest.ac.uk
• Legacy Trust UK's mission is to support a wide range of innovative cultural and sporting activities for all, which celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and leave a lasting legacy in communities throughout the United Kingdom. Legacy Trust UK has been established as a charitable trust to use funding endowed by the Big Lottery Fund, Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Website: www.legacytrustuk.org
• HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) distributes public money for teaching, research and related activities. In 2008-09 HEFCE will distribute over £9 billion to universities and colleges in England. Website: www.hefce.ac.uk

UCF is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the right to award degrees in its own name.  The University College has two campuses - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns and jointly manages with the University of Exeter).

UCF's merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008 created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Dance, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing. The Dartington-based courses have now relocated to an impressive, high-specification £19M Performance Centre at the Tremough Campus, which launches this October. The European Union's Regional Development Fund invested £12,266,667 in this development which will prepare performance students for success within the creative industries. The South West Regional Development Agency's Single Pot Fund contributed a further £3M, with the remainder being invested by the Higher Education Funding Council for England's Strategic Development Fund.

The Performance Centre is the latest phase in UCF's ambition to create a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2013/2014 that will be unrivalled in the South West.

UCF is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One and Convergence), the South West Regional Development Agency and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby Dip CIPR MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email:  jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

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