World-renowned artist, David Mach, unveils new artwork to celebrate the impact of the national lottery over 25 years
To mark the start of the National Lottery’s 25th birthday celebrations, world renowned artist, David Mach, has unveiled his latest piece of artwork in the most unlikely of places, a Manchester newsagent.
The piece titled, United by Numbers: The National Lottery at 25 features a mix of famous and lesser-known national treasures including people, places, projects and icons that have been part of extraordinary things which have been made possible by The National Lottery. They have been brought together in one iconic image to represent The National Lottery’s incredible impact on life in the UK over the last 25 years – across sports, film, heritage, the arts, and community projects.
From the Morecambe Brass Band, one of the first projects to ever receive National Lottery funding; to Idris Elba, Governor for The National Lottery funded British Film Institute; to Tracey Emin, Rio Ferdinand, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Betty Webb, a World War Two codebreaker from Bletchley Park and more.
The impressive line-up also features against a backdrop of National Lottery funded venues, including The Kelpies, Jodrell Bank, The Principality Stadium and Giant’s Causeway, composed in David Mach’s signature style. All of these individuals and places have one thing in common: they have all been positively impacted by The National Lottery over the past 25 years. An interactive version can be accessed here: www.unitedbynumbers.co.uk
Over the next six weeks (14th October – 6th December), The National Lottery will be putting on a wide range of events and activities to celebrate its 25th birthday. The birthday celebrations will showcase the positive impact that National Lottery funding has had on communities across the UK. From building local communities to protecting the environment and looking after the elderly as well as supporting youth projects, National Lottery funding has made an enormous difference to people’s lives across the UK.
Dawn Austwick, Chair of the National Lottery Forum, said: “Since The National Lottery launched in 1994 it has changed lives across the UK, helping people and places to flourish. The range of people - from arts, heritage, charities, community, and sport - who are featured in this iconic image shows just how big a part of the fabric of life The National Lottery is.”
Discover the positive impact playing the National Lottery has had on your community over the past 25 years by visiting www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk and get involved by using the 25th hashtag: #NationalLottery25.
Key to the picture (from top left to bottom right)
| 1 | The Kelpies | The world's largest equine sculptures in Falkirk's Helix park were designed by Alex Scott and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund. |
| 2 | Katerina Johnson-Thompson and Dina Asher Smith | Gold medal winners as part of Team GB’s World Athletics Championships, supported by National Lottery funding through UK SPORT. |
| 3 | Courtney Cooper | Courtney is from Monkstown Boxing Club in Northern Ireland whose #INYOURCORNER project helps improve the health, well-being and employability of young people in the area, with funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. |
| 4 | Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson | One of the greatest athletes in history and winner of 11 Paralympic gold medals, received National Lottery funding during her career. |
| 5 | Dementia Dogs Project | The National Lottery Community Fund has supported the Dementia Dogs Project, which helps those caring for loved ones with early stage dementia by providing assistance dogs in Scotland. |
| 6 | The Hendrix Flat | The legendary rock guitarist’s flat at 23 Brook Street, London was permanently restored thanks to a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2014. |
| 7 | James Nesbitt | Star of the film Bloody Sunday, patron of WAVE Trauma, Action Cancer, and Big Telly Company; and Chancellor of Ulster University - all recipients of National Lottery funding. |
| 8 | Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton | Gold medal winning Olympians whose careers culminated at London 2012; the games that would not have be possible without National Lottery funding. |
| 9 | Morecombe Brass Band | One of the first-ever projects to receive National Lottery funding back in 1994. The band was set up by Bernard Vause and is still going strong to this day. |
| 10 | Sir Tim Smit | Founder of the popular Eden Project and The Big Lunch, which were both made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. |
| 11 | Giant’s Causeway | The National Lottery Heritage Fund supported the building of a Visitor Centre at the Giant's Causeway that provides a beautiful view of the North Coast landscape and facilities. |
| 12 | Ray and Barbara Wragg | After winning £7.6m on The National Lottery, Ray and Barbara Wragg are some of the most generous winners after giving away £5.5m, mostly to charities in Sheffield. |
| 13 | ‘We’re Here Because We’re Here’ soldiers (also far right) | This artwork, devised by Jeremy Deller and principally funded by The National Lottery, saw 1,400 volunteers dressed in First World War uniform appearing at locations across the UK on 1st July 2016 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. |
| 14 | Tracey Emin | Tracey Emin’s artwork has been exhibited at National Lottery funded galleries across the country, including at The Turner Contemporary Art Gallery in her hometown of Margate. |
| 15 | Gurinder Chadha | English film director whose film ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ has become one of the UK’s best loved films and is just one example of the films funded by The National Lottery through the British Film Institute. |
| 16 | Jodrell Bank | Supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the First Light Project conserves the heritage of Jodrell Bank for future generations. |
| 17 | Edna Smith | A volunteer for 15 years with the National Lottery funded charity Home-start. Edna has helped hundreds of families recover from post-natal depression. |
| 18 | Ewan McGregor | Actor who featured in Trainspotting 2, one of the first productions to benefit from Creative Scotland’s Production Growth Fund, supported by The National Lottery. |
| 19 | Rio Ferdinand | Pundit and former England footballer whose ‘Rio Ferdinand Foundation’ is part funded by The National Lottery Community Fund. |
| 20 | Suffragettes | The National Lottery has supported projects across the country exploring the history of the suffragette movement, including the 2015 film, Suffragette; The Face of Suffrage artwork and the East End suffragettes project. |
| 21 | Idris Elba | Award-winning actor, producer and governor for the BFI. With the help of National Lottery funding he made his directorial debut in 2018 with Yardie. |
| 22 | Betty Webb | Betty is a 96 year-old veteran of Bletchley Park. In 2011, The National Lottery Heritage Fund helped restore the decaying huts in which Betty and other codebreakers worked. |
| 23 | The Principality Stadium | Ahead of the 1999 Rugby World Cup, National Lottery funding was secured to build Cardiff’s iconic stadium. |
| 24 | Paul Sinton-Hewitt | Founder of parkrun, the free weekly 5K runs open to all enjoyed by over 2 million people across the UK. Parkrun receives National Lottery funding through Sport England, Sport Wales, sportscotland, Sport Northern Ireland and UK SPORT. |
| 25 | Krystal Lowe | Dancer for Ballet Cymru, which received funding from Arts Council Wales allowing them to expand its outreach work with local communities. |