Happy Mondays - A million free theatre tickets to young people

Andy Burnham MP, Labour's Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has outlined the Labour Party's new vision for sporting and cultural opportunities for all at the Labour Party's 2008 Conference in Manchester.

In his key note address today he set a new level of ambition launching Labour's new 'Happy Mondays' programme, giving a million free theatre tickets to young people to encourage them to experience live theatre - many for the first time.

The new programme will be focused on some 95 venues all over England. Each will offer a proportion of the tickets for arts productions - free - to anyone under 26 years old.

Building on the success of Labour's policy of free entry to national museums - which has seen attendance up by 98% - Andy Burnham MP also confirmed that some 300 councils (more than 8 in every 10 councils in England) up and down the country have signed up to make swimming free for over 60s and under 16s from April next year.

He also outlined how Labour values combined with the inspirational power of the Olympics will deliver new ambition, a five hour offer of both sport and culture inspiring p eople in all walks of life, throughout the whole nation.

Andy Burnham commented:

"Culture has the power to change lives. But some people, especially young people, feel it is not for them and we want to change that. We have the best theatre in the world here in this country - and we want it to be accessible and available to everyone.

"This is the next stage in our journey of inspiring more people through sport and culture - free entry to museums, free swimming and now free theatre.

"After a decade of the Tories destroying our school sport, and making culture the property of the privileged, we are opening them up again for everyone, and giving our whole country, access to the inspirational powers of sport and the arts."