Five Gold Rings
Five Gold Rings is a programme aimed at encouraging community projects. It's not necessarily about doing new things, but rather about using the themes of Olympics, Paralympics and the theme of Gold to inspire activities you are already doing.
And it’s not just about sport! While the events of the Olympic and Paralympic Games celebrate sporting achievements, the lead up to the Games celebrates arts and culture through the Cultural Olympiad programme. The opening and closing ceremonies at the Games are also spectaculars of dance, music, theatre, song, circus, video, fireworks and special effects. Similarly, Five Gold Rings provides an opportunity for Basingstoke and Deane to celebrate London 2012 through a diverse range of leisure and cultural activity involving all sectors of the community.
Five Gold Rings is based on the five rings of the Olympic flag, representing five continental areas. The concept of five rings is used to create project zones across the borough, which are shown on the map at the bottom of this page.
Any activity that is based on the following principles can be registered as a Five Gold Rings project:
- It is inspired by the theme of gold or the Olympics and Paralympics in general
- It can be organised by your group or community
- It can be run at no or minimal additional cost to your organisation
- It involves another group or community
We want you to generate your own ideas but suggestions you might like to consider include:
- gold-themed planting in communal gardens or open spaces;
- literature / poetry competitions on the theme of gold;
- arts and craft sessions to make banners, trophies, ribbons for local competitions;
- photographic or art exhibitions on the topic of gold;
- workplace volunteering activities;
- mass participation activities at community events;
- inter-generational projects based on the 1948 London Olympics;
- community mosaics, sculptures or tapestries;
- pub quizzes based on the Olympics and Paralympics to raise money for local projects.
We are sure you will have many other ideas! Small grants of up to £300 are available to deliver such projects. Please see the section below for more information.
Full details of the Five Gold Rings programme, including how projects will be promoted, what to do if you need volunteer help, and information about small grants, are available in the information leaflets at the bottom of this page.
Further ideas and useful information about how to target and market your activities can be found in the Active Celebration Toolkit at: http://www.wellbeingsoutheast.org.uk/downloads/ActiveCelebration
5 Gold Rings Grants
Grants of up to £300 are available to organisations in order to assist with the delivery of a 5 Gold Rings Project.
Please see the '5 Gold Rings Grant Criteria' document at the foot of this page for details. If your organisation meets the criteria, please complete the '5 Gold Rings Grant Application Form' which is also available at the foot of this page and return it to:
Sue Parker
Sports Development Officer
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Civic Offices
London Road
Basingstoke
Hants
RG21 4AH
When applying for a 5 Gold Ring Grant, you will also be required to register your project with us. Please see the section below for details.
For queries or questions relating to the 5 Gold Rings Grant Scheme, please contact Sue Parker by emailing susan.parker@basingstoke.gov.uk or calling 01256 845685.
Registering your project
If you are thinking about organising a project, we want to know about it as soon as possible so you can receive some publicity to help you develop your proposals. You do not have to have all the details in place to register, we just need a brief description of the type of activity you are considering (e.g. mural project, community participation event, photographic competition, sports day etc), roughly when you are thinking of doing it and whether you may need volunteers to assist. Please let us know by completing this form:
Expression of interest form
When we receive your form we will add your activity to the list on the Community Projects page. To see the projects registered so far please click here: Community Projects Please note this is not an application for funding. Application forms to apply for a 5 Gold Rings Grant are available at the foot of this page.
Project zones
The borough has been divided into project zones to encourage different communities and groups to work together. The map below shows the zones across parish boundaries but for ease of reference, a list showing the communities in each zone, together with some of the key facilities and attractions is available at the foot of this page.
The idea is that each project involves a community group from a different project zone. In addition, each project zone has been linked with one of the five continental areas. 
At the launch of the Five Gold Rings programme in February 2010 there was a random draw to match the zones with a continent - the result was:
Zone 1 - Asia
Zone 2 - Africa
Zone 3 - The Americas
Zone 4 - Oceania
Zone 5 - Europe
Over the course of the Five Gold Rings programme it is hoped that at least one project can be developed in each zone with a community in their partner continent.
