BP pledges £10m in sponsorship to leading UK cultural institutions, as environmentalists step up protests

Artists and environmentalists reacted angrily to an announcement yesterday that BP will be pledging £10m over the next five years to sponsor four major UK cultural institutions.

The renewal and expansion of the partnerships were announced in the BP Lecture Theatre in the British Museum in London, at an event attended by Ed Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries and Iain Conn, managing director of BP, together with Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, Tony Hall, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery and Nicholas Serota, Director of Tate.

Each of the four institutions has a long-standing partnership with BP — most stretching back over twenty years — which the new agreements will extend for a further five years, out to 2017. The increased level of funding will also allow them to further develop their programmes and extend access to wider audiences, said BP.

BP said that providing secure funding and building long-term relationships with partner institutions is a key approach in its support of the arts and culture in the UK, helping to underpin the institutions' long-term development of programmes of exhibitions and performances, helping them to secure performers, artists and works of art well into the future.

Furthermore, says the company, since the beginning of the institutions' partnerships with BP:

  •   over thirty million people have visited Tate Britain and enjoyed the refreshed BP British Art Displays

  •   over 1.2 million people have attended a BP special exhibition at the British Museum

  •   over three million people have visited the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery which, in total, has attracted around 30,000 entries to the competition from more than eighty countries

  •   with the Royal Opera House, the BP Summer Big Screens programme has extended from one initial location in London in 2000 to 21 locations across the UK in 2011, providing thousands of people access to free world class ballet and opera.

In total, over three million people across the UK engaged with BP-supported arts and cultural activities in 2011. As a Premier Partner of the London 2012 Festival, BP is also helping to showcase the UK's cultural excellence and diversity to an even wider audience.

But the announcement from BP has come at a time when sponsorship arrangements between oil companies and cultural institutions, in particular between BP and Tate, have become increasingly controversial.

Earlier this month Tate head Nicholas Serota was handed a petition with more than 8,000 signatures from Tate members and visitors at the Tate members' AGM calling on Tate to end its relationship with BP, while Tate Trustee Patrick Brill (aka Bob and Roberta Smith) was quoted as calling BP "a disgrace".

Chris Sands, from art-activists Liberate Tate, who have carried out a number of unsolicited performance interventions in Tate spaces over BP's sponsorship said:

"Tate Board of Trustees should make the decision to refuse this dirty oil money. For too long the art museum has supported BP against the demonstrable wishes of so many thousands of Tate members and visitors as well as hundreds of artists. It is now up to the Tate governing body to demonstrate 21st century leadership and act on growing public concern by ending Tate's relationship with BP not renewing it. Only by breaking its links with BP will the Tate Board be acting in the best interests of Tate and the arts as well as affected communities, future generations and the world we live in".

Kevin Smith from the art-campaign group Platform, and one of the editors of the recent publication, Not if but when, Culture Beyond Oil, said: "By aligning themselves with BP, the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Opera House and Tate Britain are legitimising the devastation of indigenous communities in Canada through tar sands extraction, the expansion of dangerous oil drilling in the Arctic, and the reckless business practices that lead to the deaths of 11 oil workers on the Deepwater Horizon.

"BP's involvement with these institutions represents a serious stain on the UK's cultural patrimony".

Channel TV, the Licensee of the series, submitted a range of arguments justifying the script. For example, they explained that "the purpose of these credits is to inform the viewers of the sponsorship arrangement. The sponsorship line changes from credit to credit … this particular credit employed the sponsorship line 'Aviva Income Protection sponsors Drama Premieres'".

Channel TV considered that the sponsorship message was the "primary message" of the credit. Amongst other points put forward, they argued that no detailed description of any Aviva product was given in the credit, nor was any specific claim made as to the likely benefits. "Gary gives a qualified response (I think I'm still covered) rather than affirming any specific benefit due to him as a result of his policy (I'm still covered). No promotional language is used ..."

In their Decision, Ofcom stated that "Rule 9.22(a) of the Code ... requires that sponsorship credits broadcast around sponsored programmes must not contain advertising messages or calls to action, and that credits must not encourage the purchase or rental of the products or services of the sponsor or a third party". They judged that the majority of viewers would have assumed that Gary had been reading his Aviva Income Protection policy, whether or not Aviva branding or information was visible on the documentation that he was holding.

In a detailed judgment, Ofcom concluded that the credit promoted a benefit of the sponsor's insurance, ie that if you undertake a training course, you can still receive insurance payments under an Aviva policy. As such, Ofcom concluded that the sponsorship credits broadcast on 18th and 25th September and later, in amended form, on 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd October, 2011, contained an advertising message and therefore were in breach of Rule 9.22(a).

williamhill.com becomes title sponsor of snooker's UK Championship

Snooker's second biggest ranking event and a firm fixture on the sporting calendar since 1977, the £625,000 williamhill.com UK Championship starts this Saturday at the Barbican in York and runs until the following Sunday, 11th December.

This year's williamhill.com UK Championship will feature thirty-two of the best players in the world – including the reigning world champion and defending UK champion John Higgins, the current world number one Mark Selby, and the recent Premier League winner Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Other former world champions who'll be playing in York include Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, Graeme Dott and Shaun Murphy.

Kristof Fahy, Chief Marketing Officer at William Hill said: "The UK Championship is one of the crown jewels in the world of snooker and we're delighted to put our name to such a prestigious event.

"William Hill is a worldwide brand and our sponsorship of the UK Championship gives us the opportunity to promote our online and mobile betting products to a global audience".

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: "We're delighted to welcome William Hill as the new title sponsor of the UK Championship. Having worked with their team at the Grand Slam of Darts I know they are a fantastic company, so it's fitting that they're sponsoring one of snooker's biggest tournaments.

"The UK Championship is one of the highlights of the snooker calendar and receives outstanding exposure through coverage on the BBC and across the world, providing exceptional brand exposure for the sponsor to hundreds of millions of fans globally.

"It promises to be a superb tournament with thirty-two of the best players in the world gunning for the title".

Coverage of the williamhill.com UK Championship on BBC starts at 1.00 pm this Saturday, 3rd December.