Cate Blanchett, musician Damon Albarn and artist David Hockney are among artists to be featured as part of the first group of London 2012 Festival commissions. The 12-week arts festival opens June 21, 2012 and the first event will be a Peace One Day production held in Derry, Northern Ireland.
More than 1,000 events are to take place around the country as part of the Cultural Olympiad including dance, theatre and film.
One of the major events will see musicians from 205 countries performing concerts at “landmark sites” along the River Thames to an audience of more than 500,000.
It is hoped that more than three million people will attend a range of events as part of the festival.
Cultural Olympiad Board chair Tony Hall said, “leading artists from all over the world will come together for a wonderful finale of the Cultural Olympiad. 2012 is going to be a stupendous summer of sports and arts – the whole of the UK in celebration”.
Cultural minister Ed Valzey added, “with millions of tickets, hundreds of thousands of them free, the London 2012 Festival really will be a chance for everyone to celebrate”.
