THE NATIONAL LOTTERY has had an enormous impact on sport at all levels since tickets first went on sale some seven years ago. With UK Sport and the four home country sports councils acting as distributors of sport’s share of the Lottery income, a wide variety of beneficiaries – from local sports clubs to Olympic athletes - have seen their plans become reality.
As the first seven-year Lottery licence ends, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has issued a report that looks at how the Lottery has performed over that period and how, not just sport, but the arts, heritage, charities, Millennium projects, education, health and the environment have all benefited as a result.
In all, the Lottery has raised more than £12 billion, with some £1.6 billion going to sports projects so far.
UK Sport, which became a Lottery distributor in 1999, has been responsible for awarding a total of £92million since the World Class Performance Programmes were established in 1997.