London 2012 Festival Program Launch
The chair of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad says that arts and culture can help lead Britain out of the world’s economic problems – starting with the London 2012 Festival next summer.
Tony Hall was speaking at the launch of the London 2012 Festival Program at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
"For times when the economy looks difficult," he said, "I think we all need a sense of what we do well in this country and that is arts and culture. When we have the world’s eyes on us that is an opportunity we simply cannot miss.
"When you look at the big blocks of our economy that will lead us out of the problems we are all in globally, creative industries and culture is one of those. I hope this really changes the game and people realize just how fantastic artists in this country are. They really are world class."
The London 2012 Festival will run for 12 weeks over next summer from June 21 until September 9 and will bring artists from all over the world as well as the UK to celebrate the wide variety of the nation’s culture.
Ruth Mackenzie, director of the Cultural Olympiad, says that the event will be the "largest festival ever" in the country, offering people the chance to be inspired by the "best in the world from food to fashion, street dance to digital, and pop to opera".
The funding for the festival comes largely from the Arts Council England and various partners along with National Lottery Funding, meaning that the majority of events on offer will be free for the public to attend.
Culture minister Ed Vaizey highlighted the importance of capitalizing upon the funding by hitting the tourism targets.
"By celebrating our innovation, music, creativity and heritage, we can create a lasting legacy and attract new visitors to the UK," he said.
"We are aiming to welcome an extra 4 million tourists in the next four years – shining a spotlight on our first rate culture is central to that success."
However, London 2012 CEO Paul Deighton tellsAround the Rings that the festival would not overshadowthe Olympics themselves, instead running in tandem as an equal part of the whole event.
"A big part of the Games is to inspire young people to get involved in things which can give them new passions not just in sport but in culture. There’s no better way to get people involved than to put it on for free and on a big scale and to make it exciting," he said.
"So just like watching Usain Bolt can get someone into running, watching Mark Rylance [British actor] spout Shakespeare can excite anyone’s interest in what you can do with Shakespeare and in the theatre. It’s a very common theme about how we hope to inspire young people through sport in the Games, and how we hope to inspire young people in culture through the CulturalOlympiad."
Posters Unveiled for Festival
Specially commissioned posters celebrating the hosting of the London 2012 Olympics are now on display at the Tate Britain Art Gallery in central London.
A dozen artists in total were commissioned to create the posters, which were unveiled Friday and are part of a free exhibition in the gallery –itself a part of the London 2012 Festival next summer.
LOCOG worked with Tate to compile a shortlist of artists to create the works, which combine the world of sport and art in the Olympics and which every host city has commissioned since the 1912 Olympics.
Tate director Nicholas Serota said: "We are delighted that British artists have produced such compelling images in response to the Olympic and Paralympic Games."
Culture minister Ed Vaizey also added his praise to the prints, which are available for members of the public to buy as commemorative posters.
"We promised that when we bid we would put arts and culture centre stage and we have done that," he said.
"The Olympic posters are going to be absolutely iconic and really do celebrate one of the strongest arts communities in the world."
Reported in London by Christian Radnedge
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