The 2012 Olympic Games here will be accompanied by an ambitious program of arts events known as the Cultural Olympiad, which is getting new leadership, a new focus, and a welcome infusion of almost £16 million ($26 million) in lottery money.

Tony Hall, chief executive of the Royal Opera House, will chair the new Cultural Olympiad board convened by the government and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games in an attempt to revitalize the project, which has been criticized by some senior figures in the arts world for lacking focus and wasting money. Hall has recruited a series of major names in the arts for the Cultural Olympiad’s board, allowing it to, in effect, become a coalition of the biggest arts institutions in the U.K. Projects include an international Shakespeare festival, a film project for young people, and World River, a music festival to take place in London.