It was on 19 November 1994 that the first National Lottery draw took place.

Since then, more than £39billion from ticket sales has gone towards funding good causes in the arts, sport, heritage and communities across the UK.

"The National Lottery has transformed our lives in the UK over the past 25 years,” says Ros Kerslake, CEO of The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

“By buying a ticket, players have revitalised our public parks, supported our landscapes and wildlife, created world-class museums and visitor attractions, invested in new jobs and training, and helped people share countless stories of their rich and diverse heritage."

Stay up to date

There are lots of exciting activities and events planned to celebrate this momentous year.

These vary from showcasing some of the amazing artists, grassroots and Olympic sportspeople, wildlife, historic places and charities that have benefited from National Lottery funding, to giving back to National Lottery players with our biggest Thanks To You week yet.

Sign up to our newsletter to hear the latest updates and announcements as we have them.

Get involved

We want everyone who has received a National Lottery grant to join in the celebrations and have a handy 25 Years toolkit to show you how. It contains everything from ideas and key messages to logos and social media posts.

And put 23 November - 1 December in your diaries. That’s the week – including two weekends – of this year’s Thanks To You celebrations, when National Lottery-funded attractions and projects will be encouraged to throw open their doors and give something back to the players who contribute around £30m to good causes every week. We’ll be running a big publicity campaign showcasing the amazing attractions taking part, so it’s well worth being part of the celebrations.

You can register your interest in being part of this year's campaign by completing the Thanks To You early registration form now. Our dedicated Thanks To You project manager, Stacey Reed, will then be in touch to ensure that you have everything you need to make your offer a success.

And please don’t hesitate to reach out to her if you have any questions via email: Stacey.Reed@lotterygoodcauses.org.uk or tel: 020 7211 3928.

Life-changing projects

Did you know that in the past quarter of a century, more than half a million individual projects have benefited from National Lottery funding?!

That's the equivalent of 190 life-changing projects in every UK postcode district.

“Quite simply, The National Lottery has made the UK a better place to live and it’s hugely exciting to imagine what could be achieved in the next 25 years," says Ros Kerslake.

Got an idea for your own project? Find out how to get heritage funding.

25 years of funding for heritage

Over the past 25 years, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been the largest dedicated grant funder of the UK’s heritage. We’ve awarded £8bn to more than 44,000 projects across the UK.