The London Olympics is an ideal opportunity to increase the profile of the arts. Last week, the uplifting music-making of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, playing under their vivacious young conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, again electrified London audiences and critics. In New York, musicians from all over the world, having auditioned via YouTube, gathered in Carnegie Hall for a concert under the baton of the sassy Michael Tilson Thomas. These events came after several weeks of discussion in the media about the state of classical music and its education in the UK. More important than simply showing how vibrant the art form can be, these concerts, like great sports occasions, were a wonderful advertisement for the dreaded “e” word - elitism. When the Labour government under Tony Blair took office in 1997 it was preaching the concept of art for all. High sport was acceptable if it was loved and watched by the masses. Worship and honours were the order of the day for the winners of the Rugby World Cup. Cricketers were toasted when they beat Australia to win the Ashes, and with the emergence of the ultra-dedicated Andy Murray, interest in tennis has rocketed. At a recent Downing Street reception for the Leeds International Piano Competition, Gordon Brown said he had indelible memories of his aunt giving piano lessons (he even started playing himself) and that he and the culture secretary, Andy Burnham, were determined that every school child should receive at least a year of music. This came as a heart-warming surprise to those of us who have been saying for years that giving children the opportunity to express themselves through music as well as sport shapes a more civilised society; that in being able to vent the frustrations of poverty and lack of privilege, or merely of being young and turbulently in search of identity, volatility can be channelled into creative and enhancing media. With the London Olympics on the horizon, we are presented with a magnificent opportunity to return to the original ideals of the games - a festival celebrating, in art and sport, the possibilities of the human body and spirit. Thus, the next generation of children could be inspired not just by our swimmers, sailors and cyclists but also by our poets, composers and sculptors.—The Guardian