Catherine Oliaku Ugwu was born on 1964 and is a British executive producer, artistic director, and consultant working in large-scale ceremonies and events, including for the Summer and Winter Olympics, the Summer Paralympics, the Asian, European, Islamic Solidarity, and Commonwealth Games, and the Millennium Dome.
15 Facts About Catherine Ugwu
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Catherine Ugwu was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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Catherine 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 Empire Theatre, the Cheek by Jowl theatre company, the Black Theatre Co-operative, Chisenhale Dance Space, the National Review of Live Art, and the Islington International Festival.
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Catherine Ugwu joined the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1991, working with Lois Keidan as Deputy Director of Live Arts, and holding programming, curatorial, and commissioning responsibilities.
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In 1999, Catherine Ugwu co-founded the Live Art Development Agency with Keidan, serving as co-director until 2000.
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Catherine Ugwu was a combined arts, dance and drama advisor for Arts Council England and the Londo-n Arts Board, chaired the boards of the intercultural arts organisation Motiroti, The Showroom gallery, and the Talawa Theatre Company, and contributed to UK and international conferences on issues of cultural diversity and live arts practice.
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Catherine Ugwu produced the Millennium Dome Opening Ceremony, held on 31 December 1999.
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Catherine Ugwu was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 New Year Honours for her work on London 2012.
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In 2013, Catherine Ugwu founded her own production company, Betty Productions.
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Catherine Ugwu was Director of Ceremonies for the Baku 2015 European Games, for which she was awarded the "Dostlug" Order of Friendship by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
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Catherine Ugwu served once more as Director of Ceremonies for the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games, and was Executive Producer of the Baku 2017 Ceremonies.
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Catherine Ugwu was the Lead Consultant for the Baku World Expo 2025 Bid, vying against three other candidate cities: Osaka, Paris, and Yekaterinberg.
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Catherine Ugwu served as a Dubai World Expo 2020 Ceremonies Consultant.
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In 2019, Catherine 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.
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In 2020, Catherine Ugwu was appointed to the Education, Culture and Wellness Commission of the Global Esports Federation.