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Sir Tony Robinson on Gateway 97.8

20th November 2019
Posted by Aston Avery

On the 19th November 1994, Noel Edmonds hosted the very first draw of the National Lottery. The numbers 30, 3, 5, 44, 14, 22 and the bonus ball 10 made seven people share a jackpot of £5,874,778. 25 years later, thanks to National Lottery players, £3,000 of National Lottery funding goes to good causes every single minute, £50 every second.

In total, 5,500 millionaires have been made though the National Lottery but its primary purpose is giving to good causes across the arts, sport, heritage and communities. Over 565,000 individual grants have been awarded across the UK – that’s the equivalent of 200 life-changing projects in every UK postcode district.

One project is funded every twenty-five minutes, and every day £1,500 is provided to good causes in your local neighbourhood.

In the last 25 years, The National Lottery has contributed to life in the UK in an extraordinary number of ways:

  • £6.3 billion to sport and 864 Olympic and Paralympic medals since National Lottery funding began
  • 106,000 community sports projects including facilities, playing fields and increasing sporting opportunities for millions of people
  • £933.6 million into film-related projects, including British film favourites such as Kings Speech, Billy Elliot and Pride.
  • £760 million towards conserving natural heritage
  • £10 billion to treasured and historic sites across the UK – including The Tower of London, Stonehenge, the Titanic Quarter in Belfast and The Natural History Museum
  • Iconic artworks including the Angel of the North and the Kelpies, as well as galleries like The Tate Modern and V&A Dundee
  • £4.9 billion has been invested in a diverse range of community and grassroots art projects
  • £10.3 billion to UK charities, funding over 114,800 charitable project

Aston spoke to Sir Tony Robinson, actor (Baldrick in “Blackadder”) and TV presenter (Time Team) to discuss the new video celebrating the National Lottery’s 25th Birthday and also discussed about what the fundraising has contributed to UK