Deloitte seals £1.75m partnership with Royal Opera House
 

Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has announced the start of a five year partnership with the Royal Opera House.

Deloitte's £1.75 million sponsorship will enable the ROH to stage Deloitte Ignite, an annual three day cultural festival targeted at young professionals. The festival has been designed to widen access to the ROH. "The Royal Opera House partnership particularly appealed because it brings together our appetite for innovation and focus on young people with a commitment to widening access to the arts", said John Connolly, Deloitte senior partner and chief executive. Diverse "This five year relationship will allow the ROH to stage a range of new and innovative performances and reach a more diverse audience. It will also give Deloitte's clients, staff and partners some unique entertainment opportunities and experiences at what is undoubtedly one of the UK's leading arts and culture venues." The inaugural Deloitte Ignite will be held from 12th to 14th September, under the creative guidance of Wayne McGregor, Resident Choreographer to The Royal Ballet and founder of Random Dance. This year's festival is inspired by the human senses and includes work by Blast Theory, Julian Opie, famous for his paintings of Blur, and a club night by DJ Scanner. The festival will run alongside the launch of the ROH's 2008/9 season.   Tony Hall, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House added: "I'm thrilled that Deloitte has made this significant investment into the arts at the Royal Opera House. They have come on board as one of our major sponsors for an exciting new initiative. "Deloitte Ignite is all about bringing a new audience into the Opera House - young professionals who are currently under-represented here - and offering something contemporary and different to inspire them to become excited about opera and ballet."