Tony Hall, Royal Opera House chief executive, has been announced as the new Cultural Olympics tsar, with £16m from the Olympic Lottery Distributor to pay for six of the projects already announced.

Hall will chair a new Cultural Olympiad Board which will have arts sector luminaries such as Nicholas Serota of the Tate, Alan Davey of ACE and Munira Mirza, director of culture for the Mayor of London - the new board is a joint initiative of the Mayor and LOCOG. Jude Kelly, currently chair of culture,ceremonies and education for the Olympics, stands down but will serve on Hall’s board.