Sir Patrick Cormack FSA

Conservative Party | Staffordshire South

Question on the Cultural Olympiad

Sir Patrick Cormack (South Staffordshire) (Con): Will the Secretary of State, without quoting from a speech that, for clarity, would do justice to the Archbishop of Canterbury, unequivocally assure the House that, when we come to the Cultural Olympiad in London, the Proms will have a central part?

Andy Burnham: Of course, I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the Proms will have a role to play, as will all cultural organisations. He will be encouraged, as I am, that we have long said that we want to make an international Shakespeare festival part of our Olympic celebrations. This is a time when all the best bits of our national heritage can be available for the whole world to see, and I absolutely include the Proms in that.