Hundreds of National Lottery-funded projects around the UK will be offering the public free entrance to celebrate the National Lottery’s tenth anniversary.

A number of events will take place over the summer, leading up to the tenth birthday weekend celebrations, which begin on 6 November.

English Heritage will be giving free entry to all Lottery-funded projects, while 25 National Trust properties will also open especially for the birthday weekend.

People will also get the chance to try new sports for free at their local Lottery-funded sports centres.

Tessa Jowell, culture secretary, said: “These celebrations are our chance to show just how successful the Lottery has been. It creates winners, transforms communities and changes lives.”

The English Heritage sites opening their doors for free include Eltham Palace, Chiswick House and Charles Darwin’s Down House.

The Deep, in Hull, will also issue a special ticket offer for Saturday 6 November, while the National Botanic Garden of Wales will open its doors for free for the anniversary weekend.

As part of the celebrations, the culture secretary also announced plans for more public involvement in the Lottery.

Pilot schemes, introduced in Yorkshire and the Humber will give people the power to decide where grants, worth up to £500, are spent.

Jowell said: “We are giving the Lottery back to the people. We want to make sure that it responds more to people’s priorities, through the greater involvement of Lottery players in how Lottery money is spent.”