15 years of Lottery funding

Able2sail is a charity that offers anyone affected by disability, and their families, the opportunity to sail on a specially adapted yacht Photograph: PR

Gateshead's Millennium Bridge. Gateshead has rebranded itself as a centre of excellence for the arts following lottery investment in the Baltic gallery, the Sage, and the Millennium Bridge which links the quaysides of Gateshead and Newcastle. Photograph: PR

Synchronised divers practise at the Leeds aquatic centre, one of the world’s best diving facilities. More than £3bn of Lottery funding has been invested in sport Photograph: PR

English National Ballet’s ballerinas performing Swan Lake on the Millennium Bridge. Both the ballet and the bridge have benefited from Lottery funding Photograph: GEOFF CADDICK/PA PHOTOCALL

Eight out of 10 of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK are Lottery funded. UK junior gymnasts enjoy the exhibits at the Natural History museum. Both the rhythmic gymnasts and the museum have benefited from Lottery funding Photograph: PR

Students from the Lottery-funded Space (Sefton performing arts and creative education) centre in Liverpool rehearse for an upcoming performance. The public voted Space the UK’s best arts project at the National Lottery awards 2009 Photograph: PR

Lottery funding has enabled Brunel’s SS Great Britain in Bristol to be preserved, so the public understands her social, commercial and scientific significance Photograph: PR

Tower Hamlets Summer University offers a year-round programme of free educational and vocational courses to young people in London aged 11-25, with the help of Lottery funding. It was voted best education project at the National Lottery awards by the public Photograph: PR

More than £10bn of Lottery money has been invested in children and young people in the UK. The Young People’s Project works with young parents to provide them with the skills and support to reach their potential Photograph: PR

The Eden Project is a living lesson about how we depend on the plant world. In the last 15 years, more than £278m has supported 2,270 biodiversity projects, including the conservation and restoration of some of the UK’s most threatened habitats and species Photograph: PR

The Angel of the North, by sculptor Antony Gormley, stands on the hills above Gateshead and is Britain’s largest sculpture, a symbol of northern optimism. The Angel of the North was awarded a £584,000 grant by the Arts Council in 1996 Photograph: PR

Rising from the regenerated docklands of Salford Quays, the Lowry is an architectural flagship Photograph: PR

The Federation of Disability Sport in Wales delivers a Lottery-funded programme aimed at increasing participation among disabled people and improving opportunities for talented athletes to fulfil their potential Photograph: Steve Pope/PR