Six Northern Ireland projects combining arts and sports will benefit from £1.31m in funding from The Legacy Trust UK, formed to help communities gain life changing benefits from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The organisation is funded by the Big Lottery Fund, the Department of Culture, Media and Sports, and Arts Council England. Northern Ireland joins Scotland and Wales and nine English regions in line to receive a portion of the trust's £40m pot. The Northern Ireland's Legacy Trust programme, called Connections - Connecting Cultures: Inspiring Excellence, comprises of six themed projects: dance and sport; physical theatre/circus and gymnastics; music/poetry and sport; children's theatre; children's sport and disability; and arts and sport.

Culture and arts minister Gregory Campbell said: "The potential for the creation of innovative and lasting relationships between arts, sport and across the community should be exploited to its fullest potential through each programme. It is a very exciting piece of news for young people who are involved in sports and the arts at all levels. "For the project lead partners it will be a development experience that will challenge and stimulate them and create new networks and partnerships."The projects will commence in September 2009 and run until June 2012.

Chair of the board of Legacy Trust UK, Dugald Mackie, said: "Legacy Trust UK has awarded funds to each region and country of the UK to develop and support innovative and exciting projects in communities embracing the values of the 2012 Games. "In Northern Ireland, we are funding an innovative programme of activities that will engage the community in sport and the arts, encourage excellence and help diverse groups to share and explore their experience. This will promote closer working between the two sectors, which in turn will leave a lasting legacy."