{{Infobox person | name = Catherine Ugwu | honorific_suffix= MBE | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1964}} | occupation = Executive producer, creative director, consultant for ceremonies, large-scale events | years_active = 1986–present | notable_works= [[2012 Summer Olympics|London 2012 Olympic]] and [[2012 Summer Paralympics|Paralympic]] Ceremonies | website = {{url|http://bettyproductions.com}} }}
'''Catherine Oliaku Ugwu''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=85%|MBE}} (born 1964)<ref>{{cite web |title=Catherine Ugwu |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/Ay3iB5pPPcRJ2ivolTkCtxOJqAg/appointments |website=Companies House Register |publisher=UK Government |access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref> is a British executive producer, artistic director, and consultant working in large-scale ceremonies and events, including for the [[Summer Olympic Games|Summer]] and [[Winter Olympic Games|Winter Olympics]], the [[Summer Paralympic Games|Summer Paralympics]], the [[Asian Games|Asian]], [[European Games|European]], [[Islamic Solidarity Games|Islamic Solidarity]], and [[Commonwealth Games]], and the [[Millennium Dome]].
Ugwu began her career as a live arts curator, writer and editor, working in the main at the [[Institute of Contemporary Arts]] (ICA) and the [[Live Art Development Agency]] (LADA) with [[Lois Keidan]].
She was appointed a [[Order of the British Empire|Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) for services to the [[2012 Summer Olympics|London 2012 Olympic]] and [[2012 Summer Paralympics|Paralympic Games]].
== Career ==
=== Live arts === Ugwu first became involved in the area of performance and related practice in 1986, working freelance with a range of arts organisations and companies, including the [[Albany Theatre|Albany Empire Theatre]], the [[Cheek by Jowl]] theatre company, the [[Black Theatre Co-operative]], [[Chisenhale Dance Space]], the [[National Review of Live Art]] (NRLA), and the Islington International Festival.<ref name="Let's Get It On Contributors">{{cite book |editor1-last=Ugwu |editor1-first=Catherine |editor1-link=Catherine Ugwu |title=Let's Get It On: The Politics of Black Performance |date=1995 |publisher=ICA & Bay Press |location=London & Seattle |isbn=0-941920-33-X |page=223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dktQAAAAMAAJ&q=editions:GB4l8qpL5ZUC |access-date=1 May 2020 |chapter=Notes on Contributors: Catherine Ugwu}}</ref><ref name="Mirage Contributors">{{cite book |editor1-last=Bailey |editor1-first=David A. |editor2=Kobena Mercer |editor3=Catherine Ugwu|editor1-link=David A. Bailey |editor2-link=Kobena Mercer |editor3-link= |title=Mirage: Enigmas of Race, Difference and Desire |date=1995 |publisher=[[Institute of Contemporary Arts|ICA]] & [[Iniva]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-905263-84-7 |page=112 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tr5PAAAAMAAJ |access-date=2 May 2020 |chapter=Notes on contributors: Catherine Ugwu}}</ref>
She joined the [[Institute of Contemporary Arts]] (ICA) in 1991, working with [[Lois Keidan]] as Deputy Director of Live Arts, and holding programming, curatorial, and commissioning responsibilities.<ref name="LADA – Ugwu">{{cite web |title=LADA – Past Staff – Catherine Ugwu |url=https://www.thisisliveart.co.uk/staff-board/staff/ |website=Live Art Development Agency (LADA) |access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref> The platform they created at the ICA is considered to have contributed to the growth of [[live art]] (as an artistic practice distinct from [[theatre]] or [[visual arts]]) in London and the UK during the 1990s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chatzichristodoulou |first1=Maria |author-link=Maria X |editor1-last=Chatzichristodoulou |editor1-first=Maria |title=Live Art in the UK: Contemporary Performances of Precarity |date=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |location=London |isbn=978-1-474-25770-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0_PKDAEACAAJ |access-date=4 May 2020 |chapter=Live Art in the UK: Shaping a Field}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Heathfield |editor1-first=Adrian |editor1-link=Adrian Heathfield |title=Live: Art and Performance |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge & Tate Publishing |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-97239-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eiDrAAAAMAAJ |access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bailey |first1=David A. |author-link1=David A. Bailey |editor1-last=Donnell |editor1-first=Alison |editor1-link=Alison Donnell |title=Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |location=London & New York |isbn=0-203-19499-3 |pages=429–435 |url=https://epdf.pub/companion-to-contemporary-black-british-culture-encyclopedias-of-contemporary-culture-5ea6a7fc0c96e.html |access-date=14 May 2020 |chapter=Visual and Plastic Arts}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spackman |first1=Helen |editor1-last=Campbell |editor1-first=Patrick |title=Minding the Matter of Representation: Staging the Body (Politic) |journal=[[Contemporary Theatre Review]] |date=2000 |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=5–22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-1RAwAAQBAJ |series=The Body in Performance |publisher=RoutledgeFalmer |location=London & New York |doi=10.1080/10486800008568593 |isbn=9781134431854 |s2cid=191574449 |issn=1048-6801 |access-date=5 May 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In a 1994 article contributed by [[Bernardine Evaristo]] to the black arts listings magazine ''Artrage'', Ugwu described live art as "a way of examining cultural and ethnic identity and its effectiveness as a means of constructing and deconstructing identities and representations of ourselves".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Evaristo |first1=Bernardine |author-link1=Bernardine Evaristo |title=Going It…Alone: Solo Performers – The Art and the Ache |journal=Artrage |date=November 1994 |pages=14–15}}</ref>
While at the ICA, Ugwu compiled and edited a book of artworks and essays titled ''Let's Get It On: The Politics of Black Performance''<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Ugwu |editor1-first=Catherine |editor1-link=Catherine Ugwu |title=Let's Get It On: The Politics of Black Performance |date=1995 |publisher=ICA & Bay Press |location=London & Seattle |isbn=0-941920-33-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zC_rAAAAMAAJ&q=editions%3AGB4l8qpL5ZUC |access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref> that included contributions by [[bell hooks]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=hooks |first1=bell |author-link1=bell hooks |editor1-last=Ugwu |editor1-first=Catherine |editor1-link=Catherine Ugwu |title=Get It On: The Politics of Black Performance |date=1995 |publisher=ICA & Bay Press |location=London & Seattle |isbn=0-941920-33-X |pages=210–221 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dktQAAAAMAAJ&q=editions:GB4l8qpL5ZUC |access-date=1 May 2020 |chapter=Performance Practice as a Site of Opposition}}</ref> and [[Paul Gilroy]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gilroy |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Gilroy |editor1-last=Ugwu |editor1-first=Catherine |editor1-link=Catherine Ugwu |title=Get It On: The Politics of Black Performance |date=1995 |publisher=ICA & Bay Press |location=London & Seattle |isbn=0-941920-33-X |pages=12–33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dktQAAAAMAAJ&q=editions:GB4l8qpL5ZUC |access-date=1 May 2020 |chapter='…To Be Real': The Dissident Forms of Black Expressive Culture}}</ref> and an essay of her own.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ugwu |first1=Catherine |author-link1=Catherine Ugwu |editor1-last=Ugwu |editor1-first=Catherine |title=Let's Get It On: The Politics of Black Performance |date=1995 |publisher=ICA & Bay Press |location=London & Seattle |isbn=0-941920-33-X |pages=54–83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dktQAAAAMAAJ&q=editions:GB4l8qpL5ZUC |access-date=1 May 2020 |chapter=Keep On Running: The Politics of Black British Performance}}</ref> It was "the first book to offer detailed analysis of black live art in Britain"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goddard |first1=Lynette |title=Staging Black Feminisms: Identity, Politics, Performance |date=2007 |publisher=Palmgrave Macmillan |location=London |isbn=978-1-349-54083-9 |page=154 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3rqDDAAAQBAJ |access-date=8 May 2020 |chapter=Solo Voices: Performance Art, Dance and Poetry – Performance Politics}}</ref> and, as a "response to the absence of black live art history", the publication has been described as a "landmark collection",<ref>{{cite book |last1=MacDonald |first1=Claire |editor1-last=Heddon |editor1-first=Deirdre |editor2-last=Klein |editor2-first=Jennie |editor1-link=Deirdre Heddon |title=Histories and Practices of Live Art |date=2012 |publisher=Palmgrave Macmillan |location=London |isbn=978-0-230-22973-0 |page=169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lSodBQAAQBAJ |access-date=5 May 2020 |chapter=All Together Now: Performance and Collaboration |quote=In response to the absence of black live art history, the curator Catherine Ugwu commissioned a landmark collection of essays, ''Let's Get It On: The Politics of Black Performance''.}}</ref> and "path-breaking".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ponnuswami |first1=Meenakshi |editor1-last=Aston |editor1-first=Elaine |editor2-last=Reinelt |editor2-first=Janelle |title=The Cambridge Companion to Modern British Women Playwrights |date=2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-59533-9 |page=223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bb2E7k3fXQoC |access-date=5 July 2020 |chapter=Small Island People: Black British Women Playwrights}}</ref> It received an Honourable Mention from the Arnold Rubin Outstanding Publication Award Committee of the Arts Council of the [[African Studies Association]] (ACASA) in 1998.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Arts Council of the African Studies Association – Arnold Rubin Outstanding Publication Award |journal=ACASA Newsletter |volume=52 |issue=August 1998 |pages=9–10 |url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00103115/00049/9j |access-date=5 May 2020 |publisher=The Arts Council of the [[African Studies Association]]}}</ref> As a writer, Ugwu also contributed to the [[Iniva]]/ICA exhibition catalogue ''Mirage: Enigmas of Race, Difference and Desire'' on the work of [[Frantz Fanon]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ugwu |first1=Catherine |author-link1=Catherine Ugwu |editor1-last=Bailey |editor1-first=David A. |editor2-last=Mercer |editor2-first=Kobena |editor3-last=Ugwu |editor3-first=Catherine |editor1-link=David A. Bailey |editor2-link=Kobena Mercer |editor3-link=Catherine Ugwu |title=Mirage: Enigmas of Race, Difference and Desire |date=1995 |publisher=ICA & Iniva |location=London |isbn=978-0-905263-84-7 |pages=82–96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tr5PAAAAMAAJ |access-date=2 May 2020 |chapter=Live Art}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mirage: Enigmas of Race, Difference and Desire Exhibition |url=https://iniva.org/programme/projects/mirage-enigmas-of-race-difference-desire/ |website=Iniva |publisher=[[Institute of International Visual Arts]] (Iniva) |access-date=4 May 2020 |location=London |date=11 May 1995 – 22 March 1996}}</ref> and the ''Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture''.<ref>{{cite book |<!--last1=Ugwu |first1=Catherine |author-link1=Catherine Ugwu |-->editor-last=Donnell |editor-first=Alison |editor-link=Alison Donnell |title=Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |location=London & New York |isbn=0-203-19499-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-XkBXMWKjcC |access-date=14 May 2020}}</ref>
In 1997, Ugwu and Keidan left the ICA to form Keidan/Ugwu, "a company dedicated to locating time-based performance within a critical framework, but outside the institutional context".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sierz |first1=Aleks |author-link1=Aleks Sierz |title=Performance worries in Blair's nursery |journal=Realtime |date=1998 |issue=25 – June–July 1998 |page=34 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-765690034/view?sectionId=nla.obj-776500105&partId=nla.obj-765743726#page/n33/mode/1up |access-date=3 May 2020 |publisher=Open City Inc. |location=Sydney |issn=1321-4799}}</ref> In 1999, Ugwu co-founded the [[Live Art Development Agency]] (LADA) with Keidan, serving as co-director until 2000.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Keidan |first1=Lois |author-link1= |editor1-last=Schmidt |editor1-first=Theron |title=AGENCY: A Partial History of Live Art |publisher=LADA & Intellect Books |location=London & Bristol |isbn=978-1-783-20990-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fsCrDwAAQBAJ&q=ugwu |access-date=1 May 2020 |chapter=Foreword: Twenty Years and Counting|date=12 April 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Amelia |author-link1=Amelia Jones |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Amelia |editor2=Adrian Heathfield |editor1-link= |editor2-link=Adrian Heathfield |title=Perform, Repeat, Record: Live Art in History |date=2012 |publisher=Intellect & The University of Chicago Press |location=Bristol & Chicago |isbn=978-1-84150-489-6 |pages=425–432 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6izkAwAAQBAJ&q=Perform%2C%20Repeat%2C%20Record%3A%20Live%20Art%20in%20History |access-date=3 May 2020 |chapter=Timeline of Ideas: Live Art in (Art) History, A Primarily European-US-based Trajectory of Debates and Exhibitions Relating to Performance Documentation and Re-enactments}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harradine |first1=David |title=Art at the Edge |journal=Total Theatre |date=1999 |volume=11 |issue=2 – Summer 1999 |pages=7–9 |url=http://totaltheatre.org.uk/archive/features/art-edge |access-date=4 May 2020 |issn=0960-6106}}</ref> LADA has been described as "the most significant catalyst for the development of the Live Art sector in London and the UK more widely".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chatzichristodoulou |first1=Maria |author-link=Maria X |editor1-last=Chatzichristodoulou |editor1-first=Maria |title=Live Art in the UK: Contemporary Performances of Precarity |date=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |location=London |isbn=978-1-474-25770-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0_PKDAEACAAJ |access-date=4 May 2020 |chapter=Live Art in the UK: Shaping a Field – Live Art Development Agency (LADA)}}</ref> Ugwu and Keidan also worked as curators and consultants at international festivals around the world,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Orujova |first1=Nigar |title=Baku 2015's perfect ingredients for opening ceremony |url=https://www.azernews.az/news.php?news_id=83311&cat=baku2015 |access-date=7 May 2020 |agency=AzerNews |date=9 June 2015}}</ref> including the 1999 Festival De Beweeging in Antwerp.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Peeters |first1=Jeroen |title=Ongenaakbaar maakbaar |url=http://sarma.be/docs/17 |access-date=7 May 2020 |agency=[[Financieel-Economische Tijd]] |date=27 October 1999 |language=Dutch}}</ref>
Artists that Ugwu and Keidan collaborated with, both at the ICA and independently, include [[Forced Entertainment]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Etchells |first1=Tim |author-link1=Tim Etchells |title=Certain Fragments: Contemporary Performance and Forced Entertainment |date=1999 |publisher=Routledge |location=London & New York |isbn=0-415-17382-5 |pages=6, 199 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WYOf3HSy0TcC |access-date=7 May 2020}}</ref> [[María La Ribot|La Ribot]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=La Ribot |first1=María |author-link1=María La Ribot |author2=Wilson Le Personnic |title=La Ribot: J'ai toujours considéré la danse comme un territoire sans limite |url=https://www.maculture.fr/entretiens/entrevista-con-la-ribot/ |website=MA Culture |access-date=7 May 2020 |language=French |date=19 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Keidan |first1=Lois |author-link1= |title=La Ribot: Occuuppatiooon! [Tanz Im August – retrospective exhibition catalogue] |date=2017 |publisher=[[Hebbel am Ufer]] |location=Berlin |isbn=978-3-9818316-1-0 |pages=31–41 |url=https://www.tanzimaugust.de/fileadmin/TiA/Archiv_2013_2018/website_tanz_im_august_2017/produktionen/la_ribot_retrospektive/La_Ribot_Katalog_ANSICHT_final.pdf |access-date=8 May 2020 |chapter=La Ribot: Distinguished Artist – An Introduction}}</ref> [[Marina Abramović]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weaver |first1=Lois |author2=Lois Keidan |author-link1=Lois Weaver |author-link2= |title=Lois interviews Lois |url=https://www.studyroomguides.net/?page_id=11 |website=Are We There Yet? – A Study Room Guide on Live Art and Feminism |publisher=LADA & Queen Mary University of London |access-date=8 May 2020 |location=London |date=2014}}</ref> [[ORLAN]],<ref name="Daniel 1996, Invaded Bodies">{{cite journal |last1=Daniel |first1=John |title=Invaded Bodies |journal=Total Theatre |date=1996 |volume=8 |issue=2 – Summer 1996 |pages=10–11 |url=http://totaltheatre.org.uk/archive/features/invaded-bodies |access-date=6 May 2020 |issn=0960-6106}}</ref> [[Stelarc]],<ref name="Daniel 1996, Invaded Bodies" /> [[Ron Athey]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tolentino |first1=Julie |author-link1=Julie Tolentino |editor1-last=Johnson |editor1-first=Dominic |title=Pleading in the Blood: The Art and Performances of Ron Athey |date=2013 |publisher=LADA & Intellect Books |location=London & Bristol |isbn=978-1-78320-035-1 |pages=110–117 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m6Lh0hu-2xUC |access-date=8 May 2020 |chapter=The Irreplaceable Bodies: Resistance Through Ferocious Fragility}}</ref> [[Ron Vawter]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Ron Vawter's Roy Cohn/Jack Smith – A Screening and Conversation |url=https://www.thisisliveart.co.uk/events/ron-vawters-roy-cohn-jack-smith-a-screening-and-conversation/ |website=Live Art Development Agency |access-date=8 May 2020 |date=2017}}</ref> and [[Guillermo Gómez-Peña]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Leslie |last2=Paris |first2=Helen |title=Performing Proximity: Curious Intimacies |date=2014 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=London |isbn=978-1-137-32829-8 |pages=x-xi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T44dBQAAQBAJ |access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref>
Ugwu was also a combined arts, dance and drama advisor for [[Arts Council England]] and the [[Regional arts board|Londo-n Arts Board]], chaired the boards of the intercultural arts organisation [[Motiroti]] (1996–1998), [[The Showroom]] gallery (1996–2000), and the [[Talawa Theatre Company]] (1998–2000),<ref>{{cite web |title=Catherine Ugwu |url=https://iniva.org/library/digital-archive/people/u/ugwu-catherine/ |website=Iniva Directory |publisher=Institute of International Visual Arts (Iniva) |location=London |access-date=3 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Catherine Ugwu |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/9tM3O5RaRv14ZzEy_k6eiH0DNg0/appointments |website=Companies House Register |publisher=UK Government |access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref> and contributed to UK and international conferences on issues of cultural diversity and live arts practice.<ref name="Let's Get It On Contributors" /><ref name="Mirage Contributors" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ugwu |first1=Catherine |author-link1=Catherine Ugwu |title=Performance: The Project Papers |date=1998 |publisher=[[Project Arts Centre]] & Dog and Bones Publishing |location=Dublin |isbn=9781872493114 |chapter=Planes, Trains and Performance Art: Internationalism and Cultural Production}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ugwu |first1=Catherine |author-link1=Catherine Ugwu |editor1-last=Lavrijsen |editor1-first=Ria |title=Global Encounters in the World of Arts: Collisions of Tradition and Modernity |date=1998 |publisher=[[Royal Tropical Institute]] |location=Amsterdam |isbn=9789068322811 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7pJQAAAAMAAJ |access-date=5 May 2020 |chapter=The Art of Conflict}}</ref>
=== Ceremonies and events === Ugwu produced the [[Millennium Dome]] Opening Ceremony, held on 31 December 1999.<ref>{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Oona |author-link1=Oona King |title=House Music: The Oona King Diaries |date=2007 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London & New York |isbn=978-0-7475-9093-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BV0Z3HDZ-2EC |access-date=4 May 2020 |chapter=Millennium Eve – what a way to end a 1,000 years}}</ref><ref name="London 2012 Ceremonies Explorer">{{cite web |title=Ceremonies Explorer – Executive Team |url=https://olympicopeningceremony.tumblr.com/post/28085975894/executive-team-bill-morris-director-of |website=Official site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Ceremonies |access-date=3 May 2020 |date=2012}}</ref><ref name="Betty Productions Senior Leadership Team">{{cite web |title=Senior Leadership Team |url=https://bettyproductions.com/team/ |website=Betty Productions |access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref> In 2000, she left her position as co-director of the Live Art Development Agency to work as an independent producer on large-scale international events,<ref name="LADA – Ugwu" /> and was a producer of the [[2002 Commonwealth Games|Manchester Commonwealth Games]] Closing Ceremony in 2002.<ref name="London 2012 Ceremonies Explorer" /><ref name="Betty Productions Senior Leadership Team" />
A Senior Producer for the [[2006 Asian Games opening ceremony|Opening Ceremony]] of the [[2006 Asian Games|2006 Doha Asian Games]], and for the strategic phase of the [[2010 Winter Olympics|Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic]] [[2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony|Opening]], Victory, and [[2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony|Closing Ceremonies]],<ref name="London 2012 Ceremonies Explorer" /><ref name="Betty Productions Senior Leadership Team" /> Ugwu went on to work as Executive Producer of the [[2014 Commonwealth Games|Glasgow]] Handover Ceremony at the [[2010 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony|Closing Ceremony]] of the [[2010 Commonwealth Games|Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Team appointed for Games handover |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8290511.stm |access-date=6 May 2020 |agency=[[BBC News Online]] |date=5 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Glasgow on countdown to 2014 Commonwealth Games |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-11533856 |access-date=6 May 2020 |agency=BBC News Online |date=14 October 2010}}</ref>
[[File:The olympic flame in the london 2012 games.jpg|thumb|The [[2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron|London 2012 cauldron]], codenamed "Betty" after Ugwu's dog|right|247x247px]]In 2010, Ugwu was appointed Executive Producer – Production of the [[2012 Summer Olympics|London 2012 Olympic]] and [[2012 Summer Paralympics|Paralympic]] Ceremonies, alongside [[Stephen Daldry]] (Executive Producer – Creative) and [[Danny Boyle]] (Artistic Director of the Olympic Opening Ceremony).<ref>{{cite web |title=London 2012 announces Ceremonies team |url=https://www.olympic.org/news/london-2012-announces-ceremonies-team |website=Olympic.org |publisher=[[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC) |access-date=3 May 2020 |date=18 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Danny Boyle to direct 2012 Olympics opening ceremony |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/10338048 |access-date=8 May 2020 |agency=BBC News Online |date=17 June 2010}}</ref> The [[2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony|Olympic Opening Ceremony]] was widely praised by the media:<ref>{{cite news |title=Media reaction of London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-19025686 |access-date=6 May 2020 |agency=BBC News Online |date=28 July 2012}}</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' described it as "a masterpiece",<ref>{{cite news |title=Danny Boyle wins global praise for Olympics Opening Ceremony |url=https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/danny-boyle-wins-global-praise-for-olympics-opening-ceremony |access-date=6 May 2020 |agency=IndieLondon |date=2012}}</ref> while ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' called it "brilliant, breathtaking, bonkers and utterly British".<ref>{{cite news |title=London 2012: breathtaking, brash and bonkers...an utterly British Olympic opening ceremony |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/9433818/London-2012-breathtaking-brash-and-bonkers...an-utterly-British-Olympic-opening-ceremony.html |access-date=6 May 2020 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |first=Gordon|last=Rayner|date=27 July 2012}}</ref> Ugwu was appointed a [[Order of the British Empire|Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the [[2013 New Year Honours]] for her work on London 2012.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Year Honours List 2013 – London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/80169/NY2013-honours-London-2012.pdf |publisher=UK Government |access-date=5 May 2020 |date=31 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New Year Honours: arts and heritage |first=Nancy|last=Grove|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2012/dec/31/new-year-honours-2013-culture |access-date=6 May 2020 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=31 December 2012}}</ref>
[[Frank Cottrell-Boyce]], the writer of the Opening Ceremony, revealed that the [[2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron|London 2012 cauldron]] designed by [[Thomas Heatherwick]] was codenamed "Betty" after Ugwu's dog, in order to maintain secrecy.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Frank Cottrell-Boyce |author-link1=Frank Cottrell-Boyce |title=Secrets of the Opening Ceremony Revealed |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-10-29/secrets-of-the-olympic-opening-ceremony-revealed/ |website=[[Radio Times]] |access-date=3 May 2020 |date=29 October 2012}}</ref> A portrait of Ugwu with her dog Betty, taken by the photographer Jillian Edelstein, was commissioned by the [[National Portrait Gallery, London]] for its "Road to 2012: Aiming High" exhibition and primary collection.<ref>{{cite web |title=Catherine Ugwu |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw220540/Catherine-Ugwu?LinkID=mp132230&search=sas&sText=catherine+ugwu&role=sit&rNo=0 |website=National Portrait Gallery Collection |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London]] |access-date=3 May 2020 |date=30 October 2011}}</ref>
In 2013, Ugwu founded her own production company, Betty Productions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Betty Productions Ltd. |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08511876/officers |website=Companies House Register |publisher=UK Government |access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Betty Productions |url=https://bettyproductions.com |access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref>
Ugwu executive produced the [[Save the Children]] "IF" Campaign in 2013, with the involvement of [[Danny Boyle]], [[Bill Gates]], [[Tamsin Greig]], and [[Myleene Klass]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Save The Children – IF: Inst-allation 2013 |url=https://bettyproductions.com/portfolio/save-the-children/ |website=Betty Productions |access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref> and a live film event for [[Goldfrapp]] in 2014 – a 30-minute anthology film inspired by their album ''[[Tales of Us]]'', and live performance at [[Air Studios]] in London, both transmitted into cinemas across the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Tales of Us'' Unique Film Event |url=https://www.goldfrapp.com/blog/tales-of-us-unique-film-event-and-exclusive-live |publisher=[[Goldfrapp]] |access-date=15 May 2020 |date=20 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Goldfrapp announce a unique ''Tales of Us'' cinema event followed by exclusive live performance broadcast from Air Studios on 4 March |url=http://mute.com/mute/announce-a-unique-tales-of-us-cinema-event-followed-by-exclusive-live-performance-broadcast-from-air-studios-on-4-march |publisher=[[Mute Records]] |access-date=15 May 2020 |date=2014}}</ref>
[[File:The opening ceremony of the first European games 1.jpg|thumb|Europa and the Bull, a scene from the [[Baku 2015]] Opening Ceremony|right|247x247px]]Ugwu was Director of Ceremonies for the [[2015 European Games|Baku 2015 European Games]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Inaugural European Games Torch Relay is coming |url=https://www.eurolympic.org/inaugural-european-games-torch-relay-is-coming/ |website=EOC News |publisher=[[European Olympic Committees]] |access-date=6 May 2020 |date=20 April 2015}}</ref> for which she was awarded the "Dostlug" Order of Friendship by the [[President of Azerbaijan|President of the Republic of Azerbaijan]].<ref>{{cite news |title=President Ilham Aliyev awards BEGOC employees – List |url=https://apa.az/en/olympiad/xeber_president_ilham_aliyev_awards_begoc_empl_-229112 |access-date=3 May 2020 |agency=Azeri-Press Agency (APA) |date=29 June 2015}}</ref> The [[2015 European Games opening ceremony|Opening Ceremony]] was an Olympic-scale stadium show that reportedly cost twice as much as that of the London 2012 Olympics.<ref>{{cite news |title=European Games ceremony cost over $95M, minister says |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2015/06/13/european-games-ceremony-cost-over-95m-minister-says/71166558/ |access-date=4 May 2020 |agency=[[Associated Press]] (AP) |publisher=[[USA Today]] |date=13 June 2015}}</ref> Directed by [[Dimitris Papaioannou]], who also created the [[2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony|Opening Ceremony]] of the [[2004 Summer Olympics|Athens 2004 Olympic Games]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Baku 2015 European Games – Ceremonies Volunteer Performers Wanted |url=https://www.eurolympic.org/baku-2015-european-games-ceremonies-volunter-performers-wanted/ |website=EOC News |publisher=[[European Olympic Committees]] |access-date=6 May 2020 |date=6 October 2014}}</ref> the Baku 2015 Opening Ceremony included a performance by [[Lady Gaga]] that was coordinated by Ugwu.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lady Gaga hidden in hotel for days before games show |url=https://apnews.com/704c527f4eb24e75972ea3c8b87cf06b |access-date=6 May 2020 |agency=Associated Press (AP) |publisher=AP News |date=13 June 2015}}</ref>
Ugwu served once more as Director of Ceremonies for the [[2017 Islamic Solidarity Games|Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games]], and was also Executive Producer of the Baku 2017 Ceremonies.<ref>{{cite web |title=4th Islamic Solidarity Games kicked off with solemn Opening Ceremony at Baku Olympic Stadium |url=https://en.president.az/articles/23635 |publisher=[[President of Azerbaijan|President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev]] |access-date=6 May 2020 |date=13 May 2017}}</ref>
Ugwu was the Lead Consultant for the Baku [[Expo 2025|World Expo 2025]] Bid, vying against three other candidate cities: Osaka, Paris, and Yekaterinberg.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tomorrowland: Baku's imaginative bid to be the host of World Expo 2025 |url=https://baku-magazine.com/culture/world-expo-baku-bid-2025/ |website=Baku Magazine |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |access-date=6 May 2020 |location=London |date=5 November 2018}}</ref> Ugwu also served as a [[Expo 2020|Dubai World Expo 2020]] Ceremonies Consultant.<ref name="Betty Productions Senior Leadership Team" />
In 2019, Ugwu was both Artistic Director and Executive Producer of the Official 48th [[UAE National Day]] Celebration in Abu Dhabi, a large-scale show held at the [[Zayed Sports City Stadium]].<ref>{{cite web |title=48th UAE National Day Celebration |url=https://bettyproductions.com/portfolio/48th-uae-national-day-celebration/ |website=Betty Productions |access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Scott-Mitchell |first1=Michael |author2=Stephen Curtis |title=Grand Visions: Interview with Michael Scott Mitchell |url=https://apdg.org.au/2020/03/grand-visions-interview-with-michael-scott-mitchell-apdg |website=[[Australian Production Design Guild]] (APDG) |access-date=6 May 2020 |date=March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=48th National Day, Abu Dhabi: Flying moons for a spectacular ceremony |url=https://www.newsubstance.co.uk/case_study/48th-national-day-abu-dhabi/ |publisher=New Substance |access-date=25 May 2020}}</ref>
In 2020, Ugwu was appointed to the Education, Culture and Wellness Commission of the Global Esports Federation (GEF).<ref>{{cite web |title=#WorldConnected Driven by Foundation Pillar of Education, Culture and Wellness |url=https://globalesports.org/news/worldconnected-driven-foundation-pillar-education-culture-and-wellness/ |website=Global Esports Federation (GEF) |access-date=6 May 2020 |date=20 April 2020}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|http://bettyproductions.com}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugwu, Catherine}} [[Category:1964 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Art writers]] [[Category:British artistic directors]] [[Category:Black British women writers]] [[Category:Black British writers]] [[Category:British arts administrators]] [[Category:British consultants]] [[Category:British curators]] [[Category:British editors]] [[Category:British producers]] [[Category:British women editors]] [[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:Performance art]] [[Category:Women arts administrators]]