From the Angel of the North to the Eden Project, it has transformed the UK’s cultural landscape. But public funding for the arts is still needed

The year 1994 was a big one for British culture. Four Weddings and a Funeral smashed box-office records, Oasis’s Definitely Maybe became the fastest-selling debut album in British musical history up to then, and you could board the Eurostar for Paris. But for all the buzz of Cool Britannia, arguably the most far-reaching cultural event was the launch of the national lottery. On 19 November, 22 million people tuned in to the BBC to watch Noel Edmonds draw the first winning numbers. “It could be you!’ seemed an apt slogan for a more optimistic era.

Margaret Thatcher had “disapproved” of lotteries. Set up by her successor, John Major, the national lottery has funded more than 700,000 projects across community, heritage, sport and the arts in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This week it announced that it has raised £50bn “for good causes”. From Billy Elliot to the Royal Ballet, and Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North to the Eden Project in Cornwall, the national lottery has transformed the cultural landscape of the UK. Not to mention the 2012 Olympics and events such as Michael Sheen’s 72-hour performance of The Passion in his hometown, Port Talbot.