The National Lottery timeline
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
1994
-
The first National Lottery draw takes place
19th November 1994
The National Lottery is born. The first draw is hosted by Noel Edmunds after weeks of excitement and fanfare. The National Lottery was started to raise money for good causes across the UK
1995
-
The first Grants...
The first grants are awarded to projects across the UK! Among them are the Morecambe Brass Band who received National Lottery funding for new instruments and they are still going strong today
1996
-
The Angel Rises...
Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council receives £584,000 of National Lottery funding for a landmark sculpture. Antony Gormley creates the iconic Angel of the North.
1997
-
The Millenium Dome
With the largest ever National Lottery grant at that time, National Lottery players provided £600m for the Millennium Dome, Now the o2 Arena
1998
-
To infinity and beyond Leicester...
The National Lottery boldly goes where it hadn’t before and awards £31.8 million towards the creation of the National Space Centre in Leicester
1999
-
The pride of Wales...
The Millennium Stadium, the biggest stadium in Wales, opens thanks to £46.3 million of National Lottery funding. It’s now known as the Principality Stadium.
2000
-
The National Lottery gets a little Topsy Turvy…
Mike Leigh’s musical drama, Topsy-Turvy, becomes the first National Lottery funded film to win an Oscar. It picked up two gongs for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup
2001
-
The Garden of Eden...
17th March 2001
The National Lottery funded Eden Project opens to the public! Thanks to National Lottery players, the biomes received over £56 million to become a new landmark for the South West
2002
-
We get artsy...
The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea gets £5.9 million to be turned into an exciting and innovative contemporary arts venue.
2003
-
Sometimes it's about the little things...
Waltham Forest Cricket Academy receives £16 of National Lottery funding to buy children’s cricket equipment, it’s one of our smallest ever grants
2004
-
The Cotswolds...
£13m is awarded to the renaissance of the Cotswold Canals
2005
-
We set sail on our 200,000th grant...
The 200,000th National Lottery grant is awarded to the Cutty Sark Trust for the Cutty Sark Conservation project
2006
-
The Watts Gallery
The Watts Gallery in Surrey is awarded £5.3 million to celebrate the work of Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts.
2007
-
The Helix...
The National Lottery awards £25 Million towards the ambitious Helix Project which is now home to the iconic Kelpies.
2008
-
300,000 is a magic number…
We set sail again with our 300,000th grant, which is awarded to the National Museum Northern Ireland for the Titanic: Built in Belfast Exhibition
2009
-
Codebreakers…
The home of the World War II code breakers Bletchley Park receives £5 million towards its restoration
2010
-
The Transporter bridge gets a touch of the lottery…
Middlesbrough’s iconic Transporter Bridge gets £2.7m to be transformed into a visitor experience
-
New designs...
National Lottery players help start The Design Museum's move across London to its new home in Kensington's cultural quarter. The museum joins other National Lottery funded museums such as The Natural History Museum, The V&A London, and The Science Museum.
2011
-
It's coming home...
National Lottery players help fund the FA's National Football Centre, also known as St George's Park. The facility is home to all 28 England National Football teams. PLACEHOLDER IMAGE
2012
-
A sporting nation unites…
National Lottery players contributed an amazing £2.2 Billion towards the sporting and cultural success of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
2013
-
The 400,000TH National Lottery funded grant.
Thanks to you, the 400,000th National Lottery grant was awarded to Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil
2014
-
Finding the National Treasures…
The public decides that The National Memorial Arboretum is England’s National Treasure. Over £8 million of Lottery funding turned the site near Lichfield into a fitting tribute to the nation’s fallen war heroes.
2015
-
National Lottery players finally return to their castle…
The magnificent Lincoln Castle reopens following restoration work, helped by £12m of National Lottery funding
2016
-
Samba Style…
National Lottery funded athletes and Para athletes storm to medal success in Rio – Team GB and Paralympics GB came second in the medals tables. You played a big part in their success!
2017
-
Half a million…
We award our 500,000th grant to Ipswich 4 Families. The project provides support for local vulnerable families
2018
-
Supporting Scottish creativity...
The National Lottery funded V&A Dundee opens. It’s Scotland’s first design museum
2019
-
25 years of Magic Numbers...
19th September
In 2019, we celebrate the impact players have had on the country over the past 25 years