London 2012 Festival presents ambitious and ground-breaking new commissions in the run up to the Paralympic Games including Globe Head Ballerina @ The Royal Opera House

August 22, 2012

London 2012 Festival presents ambitious and ground-breaking new commissions in the run up to the Paralympic Games

Photograph : Iona Hanson

Hans Peter Kuhn, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Samuel Beckett, Claire Cunningham, Craig Coulthard, Robert Wilson, Jenny Eclair, Sinéad O’Donnell, Oliver Knussen, Camille O’Sullivan, Annie Mac, Grandmaster Flash, Idris Elba, Atom Egoyan, Sue Austin, Gavin Bryars and Ariane Mnouchkine are among the artists and performers featured in the tenth week of the London 2012 Festival.

London 2012 Festival continues to present ambitious, large-scale programmes across the United Kingdom in its tenth week, featuring the world premiere of Stockhausen’s final opera performed in its entirety, with musicians playing live from flying helicopters, a specially-commissioned installation set against the backdrop of the world-famous Giant’s Causeway by German artist Hans Peter Kuhn, the world’s first ever annual festival celebrating the works of Samuel Beckett, and an unprecedented all-night live party event on television. The Festival also takes inspiration from the values of the Paralympic Games with Unlimited, the UK’s largest commissioning programme involving deaf and disabled artists. A range of original works that form part of the 29 commissions will be showcased this week, in the lead up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Highlights of London 2012 Festival events opening across the UK

MITTWOCH, revolutionary German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen’s final opera of the monumental opera cycle LICHT, receives its world premiere performance, directed by Graham Vick and staged by Birmingham Opera Company, as part of London 2012 Festival. For the first time, all six parts of MITTWOCH AUS LICHT featuring two choirs, flying solo instrumentalists, live electronic and acoustic music and a string quartet streamed live from four flying helicopters will be staged together in its entirety. (Argyle Works, Birmingham, 22 Aug – 25 Aug 2012). The famous Helicopter String Quartet will be broadcast for free at London 2012 Live Sites in both Birmingham and Coventry and streamed live on The Space digital arts service between 19:00 and 20:00(times approx) on Wednesday 22 August, direct from the world premiere performance. The entire opera will be available via a free webcast on Birmingham Opera Company website (http://www.birminghamopera.org.uk) on Thurdsay 23 August from 16:00.

Flags is internationally renowned German artist Hans Peter Kuhn’s new innovative installation artwork set on and against the backdrop of the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. The artist has placed freely rotating flags, red on one side and yellow on the other, along the length of the bay of Port Noffer and on the banks of the cliff face. (FREE, Giant’s Causeway, Belfast, 20 August – 4 November 2012)

Channel 4House Party - in an unprecedented live television event, Channel 4 hands over creative control for one night to six world-class DJs, including Grandmaster Flash, Annie Mac and Horse Meat Disco, playing live to the nation with six hour-long sets in a clubbing experience like noother. This marks the first time DJs have been granted control of a national broadcaster, and with no advert breaks, no commentary and no interruptions, it promises to be the party of the year (Friday 24 August 2012, live from midnight – 6AM, Channel 4 & Channel4.com/houseparty). Actor Idris Elba (The Wire, Luther) also counts down the defining moments of the greatest cultural phenomenon of our generation in a two-hourfilm, How Clubbing Changed the World (10PM – 6AM, 24 August, Channel 4 and Channel4.com/houseparty).

Happy Days is the world’s first-ever annual festival celebrating Samuel Beckett, held in the town of Enniskillen in Northern Ireland. Highlights of the season as part of the London 2012 Festival include:

World-renowned director and performer Robert Wilson’s new production of Beckett’s solo masterpiece, Krapp’s Last Tape (Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen, Northern Ireland; 24 – 27 August 2012)
Atom Egoyan presents the Irish premiere of his 2002 film installation Steenbeckett, created by the renowned Armenian director as a response to Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape (FREE, The Clinton Centre, Enniskillen, 11-27 August 2012)
One of Britain’s greatest living composers, Gavin Bryars, performs his most famous work The Sinking of the Titanic in the centenary year of the ship’s fated voyage. Performed with his Ensemble, the piece is a tribute to one of the great disasters of the 20th century (St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen, 25 August 2012)
Devoted and disgruntled, which seeks to engage people in conversations, both in real-time and online, which are designed to help the theatre community from all different regions forge new initiatives, relationships and self-sustaining communities (Free, Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, 25-26 August 2012)

UNLIMITED, involving deaf and disabled artists, is the UK’s largest programme of its kind, with 29 commissions. It encourages collaborations and partnerships between disability arts organisations, disabled and deaf artists, producers, and mainstream organisations, to celebrate the inspiration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games through the creation of original and exciting works. The programme culminates with a series of major events timed to coincide with the Paralympics. Events opening this week as part of London 2012 Festival:

Claire Cunningham: Ménage à Trois explores award-winning performer Claire Cunningham’s 20-year relationship with her crutches in study of love, obsession, loneliness and manipulation. This work of dance theatre is a collaboration with choreographer and video artist Gail Sneddon, and is set within an animated environment, enveloping the performers in a surreal, imaginary world. (Tramway 1, Glasgow, 24 – 25 August 2012; The MAC, Belfast, 31 August 2012; Southbank Centre, London 8 September 2012)

CAUTION brings together six artists from around the world to work on a series of solo and collaborative performances, video works, still images and installations that allow the artists to explore their limits, break through boundaries and work with the extremes of their abilities to communicate and make things happen. Led by Belfast-based artist and curator Sinéad O’Donnell, CAUTION artists Sylvette Babin (Canada), Mariel Carranza (Peru), Paul Couillard (Canada) Poshya Kakl (Kurdistan-Iraq) and Shiro Masuyama (Japan) investigate what it means to have an ‘invisible’ disability. (Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast, 24 August – 29 September 2012; Southbank Centre, London, 31 August – 09 September 2012)

The Ugly Spirit is disability-led performance company Fittings Multimedia Art’s new show, a mix of music, text and improvisation that fuses the talents of avant-garde performance artist David Hoyle with the vocal skills of acclaimed soprano Denise Leigh and is directed by Garry Robson. This intimate promenade performance invites audiences to explore the undiscovered places that lurk behind the scenes in theatres and travelling shows before being taken to a private audience with the famous Siamese Twins, Jessie and Bessie (Bluecoat Liverpool, 21- 22 August 2012; Cathedral Quarter Workspaces, Belfast, 24 August 2012; Southbank Centre, London 2- 3 September 2012).

Paralympic Flame Festivals celebrate the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay where the flames from all four UK nations will be lit at the summit of their highest peaks on Wednesday 22 August. The Flames will then be transferred to each nation’s capital city in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London where they will become the focus of a day of Paralympic celebrations. The free Flame Festivals feature live music and entertainment, and will conclude with young people from each capital city taking part in a lantern procession and forming a guard of honour, through which the Flame will be carried and used to light a Ceremonial Cauldron. Each national Flame will then be taken to the Paralympic Flame Lighting Ceremony in Stoke Mandeville stadium in Buckinghamshire, thespiritual home of the Paralympic Movement, on 28 August, for the start of the 24 hour overnight Relay from Stoke Mandeville to London. A specially commissioned film by the multimedia, performance and installation artist Sue Austin has been created for the Paralympic Flame Festivals. The Cardiffevent will include appearances by Charlotte Church in the afternoon, and Wales Millennium Centre’s choirs Hard Côr and Only Kids Aloud, aerial artists Scarabeus, Only Men Aloud, Tredegar Brass Band and a mass sing-along of Karl Jenkins’ piece In These Stones Horizons Sing in the evening. (City Hall, Belfast, 25 August; Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, 26 August; Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff, 27 August).

Trailblazers – Britain’s Queen’s of TV Comedy - Jenny Eclair hosts a celebration of pioneering female stand up at Hackney Empire, with a line-up including Marti Caine, Janet Brown, Tessie O’Shey and Victoria Wood. (23 August 2012); and BFI Southbank presents a look back at the groundbreaking all-female sketch show Smack thePony, which finished some ten years ago but still has resonance within TV comedy today, with all its contributing talents – from in front of and behind the cameras – going on to have significant further careers.

Tony Cragg at Exhibition Road is a major new exhibition of five outdoor sculptures by Tony Cragg installed on the newly pedestrianised area of London’s Exhibition Road, with a further six indoor works to go on display at the V&A, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. Curated by the Cass Foundation, the sculptures range up to 5.5m in scale and demonstrate Cragg’s pioneering and ambitious sculptural techniques across a range of materials including bronze, stone, cast iron, steel and wood (Exhibition Road, London, 25 August – 25 November 2012)

Forest Pitch by artist Craig Coulthard sees the creation of a full-size football pitch hidden deep within a commercial forest on the Scottish Borders. Four highly unusual teams, with approximately 60 players from around the world and different backgrounds and origins, play two amateur football matches on a specially constructed pitch. Exploring issues of nationhood, community, landscape and memory, Forest Pitch proposes both a memorable sporting occasion and a place that can be revisited and re-experienced for years after the match day. (Clarilawmuir Plantation, Scottish Borders, 25 July 2012, for tickets see www.forestpitch.org)

Robert Wilson’s Walking sees a stretch of North Norfolk’s wild coastline transformed by a series of sculptural installations. Internationally acclaimed director Robert Wilson collaborates with Dutch visual artist Theun Mosk and theatremaker Boukje Schweigman to create an artistic experience, exploring man’s relationship with the landscape. Guides will walk audiences through a three-mile section of the North Norfolk coastline featuring a series of visual and sound installations. For tickets, visit: www.nnfestival.org.uk (20August – 2 September 2012).

Storylab - this is a busy week for Storylab, which is running throughout the Festival offering exciting opportunities for kids to get reading, creating and illustrating stories. Highlights of the week’s events include:

Wonderlands: A Festival of International Writing for Children - Three days of stories, words, drawings, conversations and explorations as some of the world’s most brilliant writers for children and young people appear at the British Library, including Michael Rosen, Michael Morpurgo and Julia Donaldson (British Library, London, 24 – 26 August)
Summer Reading Challenge Road Show - stories and activities for children and families in libraries all over the UK. The programme includes book performances, an African drumming music event, art events, author visits, Book Aerobics, workshops, crafts and modelling, creative writing, dance events, drama events, face-painting, film shows, quizzes, Olympic themed events and games, Lego challenges, magic shows with Story Lab theme, puppet making, science labs, sports days, treasure hunts and Wii sporting events. This week, Sue Monroe (ex-CBeebies presenter and author of The Magnificent Moon Hare) will be reading in Worthing Central Library on Thursday 23^rd August.
Storycloud – a free nationwide digital project reaching children in their homes, schools and libraries. Each Monday during London Festival 2012, a new story will be released creating a magical online library for children from 5-8 years old and their families. Discover has commissioned twelve brand new stories/poems; from the UK’s leading children’s authors/poets including Michael Rosen, Malorie Blackman, David Almond, Philip Ardagh, Jamilla Gavin and Andy Stanton and four from east London children. Each one is beautifully illustrated and available free online. Children can send in their own stories and illustrations too, some of which are posted on the StoryCloud gallery.
Rochester’s Extraordinary Storyloom - Experiment with the only surviving story manufacturing machine, which has been discovered and reassembled at The Oxford Story Museum. This week’ events include: Amazing Animation: Take a line for a walk in this taster animation session with the Animation Station. Using pencils, pens and crayons, animate your own story and bring it to life on screen. (Wednesday 22 August & Wednesday 29 August 2012); and Storyloom ‘Steamings’: Ted Dewan, The Story Museum’s artist-in-residence and Keeper of the Loom, will bring this mysterious steampunk machine to life. (Saturday August 25 2012)

The Ark-ive - Visitors are invited to visit this large vessel outside the National Theatre made of salvaged materials and fill it with objects, drawings, photographs and memories of animals they had some kind of interaction with, aiming to represent the complex relationship between the human and the animal world. (FREE, National Theatre Inside Out, London, 21 – 27 August 2012)

World Shakespeare Festival continues to celebrate the global appeal of William Shakespeare. Highlights for this week of the London 2012 Festival include:

Cesario, Byrony Lavery’s funny and touching new play about belonging and loss which opens at the National Theatre’s Pop-up Workshop. Performed by a cast of young actors chosen from local schools and youth theatres, Cesario is inspired by the twins in Shakespeare’s plays (22 – 25 August 2012, National Theatre Inside Out).
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It) – Russian artist and director Dmitry Krymov presents the global premiere of his unique take on Shakespeare’s greatest comedy in the UK this summer as part of London 2012 Festival (Edinburgh International Festival, 24 – 26 August 2012).

Julius Caesar, Shakespeare’s classic political thriller finds dark contemporary echoes in modern Africa, directed by RSC Artistic Director Designate Gregory Doran and featuring Paterson Joseph as Brutus. (Noel Coward Theatre, London, 8 August – 15 September 2012).
The Rape of Lucrece - a provocative performance of Shakespeare’s tragic poem by acclaimed singer Camille O’Sullivan in a Royal Shakespeare Company production as part of the World Shakespeare Festival, performed as part of the Edinburgh International Festival (Royal Lyceum Theatre, 22 – 26 August 2012).
Troilus and Cressida – Working for the first time together, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Wooster Group present an Anglo-American production of Shakespeare’s epic Trojan play. Co-directed by Elizabeth LeCompte and Mark Ravenhill (Riverside Studios, London, 24 August – 8 September 2012).
Shakespeare: Staging the World – the BP Exhibition, a major exhibition on the world and works of William Shakespeare, providing an insight into the emerging role of London as a world city four hundred years ago interpreted through the perspective of Shakespeare’s plays (British Museum, 19 July – 25 November 2012).

BBC Proms, the world’s biggest classical music festival, this year forms part of the London 2012 Festival. The eight-week season of concert and events features the world’s leading artists and orchestras, the largest number of new commissions for a Proms season, record youth participation and a celebration of London and composers and pieces. Highlights of this week at the Proms include:

Andris Nelsons conducts the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for the UK premiere of Emily Howard’s Calculus of the Nervous System, alongside works by Glinka and Shostakovich (Prom 51, 7.30PM, 21 August 2012)
Robert Hollingworth and I Fagiolini bring a radical reconstruction of Giovanni Gabrieli’s colossal Magnificat, commemorating the 400^th anniversary of the composer’s death (Prom 53, 10.15PM, 22 August 2012) .
The world premiere of Helen Grime’s BBC commissioned piece Night Songs, written in tribute to Oliver Knussen’s 60^th Birthday. The piece will be conducted by Knussen himself, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, alongside Goehr’s Metamorphosis/Dance, Knussen’s Symphony No. 3 and the first complete performance of Debussy’s The Martyrdom of St Sebastian (Prom 56, 7.30pm, 25 August 2012).

Edinburgh Festivals have increased their programming ambitions this year and created a series of large scale, one-off, signature events as part of the London 2012 Festival.Prominently featured among the programme of comedy, dance, theatre, opera and musical events are showcases of the most innovative modern culture with ambitious collaborations between Scottish and international artists. Highlights of the London 2012 Festival programme this week include:

Legendary French director, Ariane Mnouchkine’s production Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) performed by Le Théâtre du Soleil, which transforms Lowland Hall into a world of imagination and fantasy. Mnouchkine’s work has rarely been seen in the UK because of its sheer scale and complexity, and this is her first production in the UK for 20 years (23 – 25 August, 27-28 August 2012).
NVA’s Speed of Light embraces the Olympic sporting theme, bringing the historic peak of Arthur’s Seat to life in a mass choreographed act of walking and endurance running, as hundreds of runners wearing specially designed light suits take to the intricate path networks below. Members of the audience are invited to become part of the work, carrying portable light sources set against the dark features of the hill (Arthur’s Seat, 9 August – 1 September 2012, 9-11PM).
Timeline is Turner prizing-winning artist Susan Philipsz’s first ever exhibition in Edinburgh, a multi-site sound installation placed in an invisible line through the Scottish capital. Created in response to one of Edinburgh’s famous landmarks – the One O’Clock Gun – the piece is activated once a day as the gun sounds, with speakers creating an echo through the city, part of the Edinburgh Art Festival (FREE, Edinburgh City Centre, 2 August – 2 September 2012).

Preview of forthcoming events

Connecting Light is a major new art installation along the line of Hadrian’s Wall, designed by New York based digital arts collective YesYesNo with Zachary Lieberman. With over 400 two metre diameter balloons lit by internal LED lights, the installation will become a line of pulsating colours as messages are sent along the Wall. The installation will be visible in the evening and accessible to visitors at several locations. (FREE, Hadrian’s Wall, Various Sites, Hexham; 31 August – 1 September 2012)

The Africa Express sees a collective of African and Western musicians taking part in a musicaljourney aboard a train filled with dozens of emerging and world-famous artists traversing the UK, playing unexpected gigs in unexpected places. Led by Damon Albarn, and featuring artists including Baaba Maal, Rokia Traoré, Carl Barât, and Rizzle Kicks, the Africa Express will visit homes, schools, factories, shopping centres and stations, with the adventure culminating in a finale concert in London’s Granary Square. (Multiple venues, 3 – 8 September 2012)

Branches: The Nature of Crisis, in a special commission for National Theatre Wales, award-winning Argentinean choreographer and director Constanza Macras creates a new site-specific show in the forests of North Wales, drawing inspiration from the ancient Welsh stories of the Mabinogion. (Wepre Park, Flintshire, Wales; 5 – 8 September 2012, 12 – 15 September 2012)

Mandala, a bold fusion of South Asian dance, music and ground breaking 3D projection sees Birmingham Town Hall and Nottingham Council House lit up in spectacular evening displays. (FREE,Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham; Nottingham Council House, Nottingham, 7 September – 9 September 2012)

Michael Clark – Barrowlands Project, ground-breaking Scottish dancer, choreographer and artist Michael Clark takes over the celebrated Glasgow Barrowlands, now a revered rock music venue and with a history as Glasgow’s premier dance hall to create a landmark dance event inviting local people to perform alongside company dancers to create a communal dance experience. (Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, 8 September – 9 September 2012)

Bandstand Marathon – Communities in Tune, using the nation’s bandstands as community hubs, The Bandstand Marathon aims to bring UK society together through live music. This year, the challenge is to run 500 events simultaneously nationwide and to showcase performances from all the cultures and communities of Britain. (FREE, Bandstands around the UK, 9 September 2012)

As well as an exciting mix of visual arts and performance works, the London 2012 Festival is treating audiences across the UK to a series of special pop-up events including comedy gigs, visual art installations, music concerts, and outdoor events. Highlights include:

What You Will: Pop Up Shakespeare – To Be or Not To Be, created by Mark Rylance, which will see 50 actors interact with the public in various London streets, bringing to life Shakespeare’s most famous characters (London, 28 August – 2 September 2012).
Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday 22 August for a unique jazz performance by platinum-selling soul singer Mica Paris and the 14 strong London Vocal Project at London’s legendary 606 club (28 August).
Tickets are on sale for an autobiographical performance lecture on Adventure Capitalism by Mark Borkowski, one of most influential figures in the PR industry, at Bristol Old Vic Theatre (1 September).
Also on 1 September, Bexhill’s De La Warr Pavilion will host a special drive-in screening of the classic 1969 British film The Italian Job, in the shadow of Richard Wilson’s Hang On A Minute Lads, I’ve Got A Great Idea… installation on the gallery’s roof, inspired by the film’s final scene in which a coach containing gold bullion and a gang of robbers hovers precariously over a cliff.
Further dates have just been announced for Sacrilege, the life-sized inflatable replica of Stonehenge for people to bounce on by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller; the installation will now pop-up in Oldham (24 August), Belfast (26 August), Newry (28 August), Gateshead (30 August), Doncaster (1 September), Skegness (3 September), Whitstable (5 September), Stoke (7 September) and Preston (9 September).

Listings for London 2012 Festival for the week beginning 20 August 2012:

Art, Design & Exhibitions

UK wide

Imagine Peace – Yoko Ono (19 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), London 2012 Live Sites

London

Arthur Bispo do Rosario (13 Aug -28 Oct 2012); Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Art in the Park (From 27 Jul 2012), Olympic Park, London
Tino Sehgal – The Turbine Hall Commission (24 Jul – 28 Oct 2012), Tate Modern, London
The Tanks: Art in Action (18 Jul – 28 Oct 2012) Free, Tate Modern
Changing Rooms - (15 August – 30 September 2012); The Underground Gallery/The Hub-Westminster/Davenport’s Ticket Shop, London
BT Road to 2012 (19 Jul – 23 Sep 2012), National Portrait Gallery, London
Casa Brasil (21 Jul – 8 Sep 2012), Somerset House, London
Damien Hirst (4 Apr – 9 Sep 2012), Tate Modern, London
Design Stories – The Architecture behind 2012 (25 Jun – 25 Sep 2012), Royal Institute of British Architects, London
Designing the Extraordinary – Heatherwick Studio (31 May – 30 Sep 2012), Victoria and Albert Museum, London
International Architecture and Design Showcase (23 June – 23 Sept 2012) Embassies and Cultural Institution, London
Frieze Projects East (18 Jul – 31 Aug 2012), multiple venues, London
Government Art Collection at the Whitechapel Gallery (19 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), Whitechapel Gallery, London
London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Posters (21 Jun – 23 Sep 2012), Tate Britain, London
Metamorphosis – Titian 2012 (11 Jul – 23 Sep 2012), National Gallery, London
Next Generations – BP Portrait Awards (21 Jun – 23 Sep 2012), National Portrait Gallery, London
Official London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Poster Display (21 Jun – 21 Sep 2012), Tate Britain, London
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 – Ai Weiwei & Herzog and de Meuron (1 Jun – 14 Oct 2012), Serpentine Gallery, London
The English Flower Garden – Paul Cummins (4 Jun – 26 Aug 2012), Cromwell Green, House of Parliament, London
To The Light – Yoko Ono (19 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), Serpentine Gallery, London
Whitechapel Gallery Commission – Rachel Whiteread (From 14 June 2012), Whitechapel Gallery, London
Globe Head Ballerina: Yinka Shonibare (From 21 June 2012), Royal Opera House, London
The Changing Room (15 August – 30 September 2012), The Underground Gallery; Davenport’s Magic Shop; The Hub, London

South of England

Cass Sculpture Foundation – Tony Cragg (21 Jun – 4 Nov 2012), Cass Sculpture Foundation, West Sussex
Ballast Seed Garden – Maria Thereza Alves (21 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), Floating Harbour (North side), Bristol
Edmund de Waal (20 Apr – 28 Oct 2012), Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury
Give me tomorrow – Alex Katz (19 May – 23 Sep 2012), Tate St Ives, St Ives
Hang on a minute lads, I’ve got a great idea… – Richard Wilson (7 Jul – 1 Oct 2012), De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill On Sea
Piercing Brightness – Shezad Dawood (23 Jun – 29 Sep 2012) Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance. (30 Jun – 15 Sep 2012), The Exchange, Penzance
She Lay Down Deep Beneath the Sea - Tracey Emin (26 May – 23 Sep 2012), Tuner Contemporary, Margate
The English Flower Garden – Paul Cummins (1 Jun – 17 Sep 2012), Blenheim Palace, Oxford
The English Flower Garden – Paul Cummins (11 May – 1 Sep 2012), The Secret Gardens of Sandwich, Sandwich
DruidMurphy – Plays by Tom Murphy (18 – 25 Aug 2012), Oxford Playhouse, Oxford

Midlands

CORE – Kurt Hentschläger (23 Mar – 30 Sep 2012), Enginuity, Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, Telford
The English Flower Garden – Paul Cummins (11 May – 1 Sep 2012), Althorp Estate, Northampton
Boyd & Evans: Views (18 Jul – 2 Sep 2012), Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
Walking – Robert Wilson (20 Aug – 2 Sep 2012) Holkham, Norfolk

North of England

Mobile Republic: Digital Caravans (30 Aug – 02 Sep 2012), First Street Manchester, Manchester
Niet Normaal: Difference on Display (13 July – 2 Sep 2012), The Bluecoat, Liverpool
Richard Long (Artist Rooms) and Luke Fowler (23 Jun – 14 Oct 2012), The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield
The English Flower Garden – Paul Cummins (1 Jun – 31 Aug 2012), Castle Howard, York
Trade Secrets – Humble Market (23 Jun – 26 Aug 2012), FACT, Liverpool
We Face Forward – Art from West Africa Today, Gallery of Costume, Manchester (2 Jun – 15 Sep 2012) Whitworth Art Gallery/Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester (2 Jun – 16 Sep 2012)

Wales

Making Triangles – Richard La Trobe-Bateman (7 Jul – 9 Sep 2012), Ruthin Craft Centre, Ruthin
Rooms of Dreams – Wendy Ramshaw (7 Jul – 9 Sep 2012), Ruthin Craft Centre, Ruthin

Northern Ireland

Godot Tree – Antony Gormley (2 Jul – 27 Aug 2012), The Grand Yard at Castle Coole, Enniskillen
The Screaming Silence of the Wind – Maurice Orr (6 Aug – 23 Aug 2012), Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart
Flags – Hans Peter Kuhn (20 Aug – 4 Sep 2012), Giants Causeway, Belfast

Scotland

Timeline – Susan Phillipz (2 Aug – 2 Sep 2012) Edinburgh
NVA – Speed of Light (9 Aug – 1 Sep 2012) Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh

Comedy

London

Trailblazers – Britain’s Queens of TV Comedy (21 & 28 Aug 2012), BFI Southbank, London

Scotland

BBC Comedy Presents (3 -27 Aug 2012), High Street, Edinburgh
UNLIMITED: Laurence Clark Inspired (1-27 Aug 2012) The Underbelly, Wee Coo, Edinburgh

Film, Broadcast & Digital

UK wide

A Room for London (1 Jan – 30 Dec 2012), Digital, UK wide
The Itch of the Golden Nit (23 Jun – 9 Sept 2012); Picturehouse cinemas nationwide
A Running Jump – Mike Leigh (24 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), Picturehouse Cinemas, UK wide
Film National Shorts Online (21 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), Online and Live Sites, UK wide
Ping Pong: Never Too Old For Gold (8 Aug – 2 Sep 2012); This week: (16 Aug 2012), Edinburgh Picturehouse, Edinburgh; (20 Aug 2012), Phoenix Picturehouse, Oxford
Sea Change – Cape Farewell Scottish Islands Project (1 May – 30 Sep), Online, UK Wide
StoryCloud (18 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), Online, UK wide
The World in London (14 – 31 Aug 2012), thespace.org
Lauren’s Spacepod 2012 (Weekly, 13 Aug – 24 Sep 2012) thespace.org

Midlands

Motion Disabled Unlimited- Simon McKeown (20 Jul – 9 Sep 2012), Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough

Northern Ireland

MACROPOLIS – Joel Simon (12 Jul – 29 Aug 2012), W5 at Odyssey, Belfast
Atom Egoyan – Steenbeckett (11 – 27 Aug 2012), Clinton Theatre, Enniskillen

Museums & Heritage

London

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Medals (until 9 Sep 2012), British Museum, London
BP Shakespeare: Staging the World (19 July – 25 November 2012), British Museum, London

South of England

The Search of Immortality: Tomb Treasures of Han China (5 May – 11 Nov 2012), Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Treasures of China (30 Jun 2012 – 7 Jan 2013), Colchester Castle Museum, Colchester
World Stories – Young Voices (From 23 Jun 2012), Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Brighton

North of England

Golden Threads (19 May – 16 Sep 2012), Bradford Industrial Museum, Bradford

Music

London

BBC Proms 2012 – Prom 51 - Glinka, Howard & Shostakovich, Royal Albert Hall, London (7.30PM, 21 Aug 2012)
BBC Proms 2012 – Prom 52 - Prokofiev – Cinderella, Royal Albert Hall, London (7PM, 22 Aug 2012)
BBC Proms 2012 – Prom 53 - 1612 Italian Vespers, Royal Albert Hall, London (10.15PM, 22 Aug 2012)
BBC Proms 2012 – Prom 54 - Davies, Delius & Shostakovich, Royal Albert Hall, London (7.30PM, 23 Aug 2012)
BBC Proms 2012 – Prom 55 - Britten – Peter Grimes, Royal Albert Hall, London (7PM, 24 Aug 2012)
BBC Proms 2012 – Prom 56 - Goehr, Knussen, Grime & Debussy, Royal Albert Hall, London (7.30PM, 25 Aug 2012)
BBC Proms 2012 – Prom 57 - Wagner, Berg, R. Strauss & Ravel, Royal Albert Hall, London (7.30PM, 26 Aug 2012)
BBC Proms 2012 – Prom 58 - Family Matinee: A Journey to Far Corners of our Musical World, Royal Albert Hall, London (3PM, 27 Aug 2012)
BBC Proms 2012 – Prom 59 - The Broadway Sound, Royal Albert Hall, London (8PM, 27 Aug 2012)

Outdoor & Carnival

London

Showtime: Entertainment Everywhere (21 Jul – 9 Sep 2012 – This week: (18 August 2012), Hounslow High Street, London
Watch this Space Commissions – National Theatre (1 Jun – 9 Sep 2012)

South of England

Sacrilege (26 Aug 2012), Grove Playing Fields, Belfast

Poetry & Storytelling

UK Wide

StoryLab: The Summer Reading Challenge 2012 (14 Jul – 10 Sep 2012), UK wide
StoryCloud (18 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), online, UK wide

London

aMAZEme (31 Jul – 26 Aug 2012), Southbank Centre, London
Wastelands to Wonderlands – Writing Britain (11 May – 25 Sep 2012), British Library, London

South of England

Rochester’s Ripping Story Loom (21 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), The Story Museum, Oxford

Scotland

Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference (17 – 21 Aug 2012), Charlotte Square Gardens, Edinburgh

Theatre & Performance

UK Wide

Shakespeare Unlocked (23 Apr – 31 Dec 2012), BBC Online, UK wide

London

Kids Week in the West End (1-31 Aug 2012) various theatres, London
Julius Caesar (8 Aug – 15 Sep 2012), Noel Coward Theatre, London
Timon of Athens (10 Jul – 31 Oct 2012), National Theatre, London
Henry V – Globe to Globe (8 Jun – 26 Aug 2012), Shakespeare’s Globe, London
National Theatre Watch This Space commissions (1 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), National Theatre, London
Shakespeare: Staging The World, The BP Exhibition (19 Jul – 25 Nov 2012), British Museum, London
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (24 Jul 2012 – 12 Sep 2012) National Theatre, London
The Last of the Haussmans (until 10 Oct 2012) National Theatre, London
The Pop-Up Workshop – National Theatre Inside Out (1 Jun – 9 Sep 2012), London
You Me Bum Bum Train (19 Jul – 19 Sep 2012), LEB Building, Bethnal Green, London

South of England

DruidMurphy (18 – 25 Aug 2012), Oxford Playhouse, Oxford
Double Bill: Absurd Person Singular and Surprises – Alan Ayckbourn (8 Aug – 8 Sep 2012), Minerva Theatre, Chichester

Midlands

Troilus and Cressida (24 Aug – 08 Sep 2012) LIFT at Riverside Studios, London
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It) (24 – 26 Aug 2012), Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh
House of Fairy Tales: Adventure of the Missing Manuscript (30 Jun – 2 Sep 2012), Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
King John – Royal Shakespeare Company (6 Apr – 15 Sep 2012), Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Much Ado About Nothing – Royal Shakespeare Company (26 Jul – 15 Sept 2012) The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Richard III – Royal Shakespeare Company (22 Mar – 15 Sep 2012), Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Shakespeare Stories in partnership with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (21 Apr – 21 Dec 2012), Stratford Upon Avon
Squidsoup: Living Walls (21 Apr – 9 Sep 2012), Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
The Adventure of the Missing Manuscript – The House of Fairy Tales (2 Jul – 2 Sep 2012), Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
The Comedy of Errors – Royal Shakespeare Company (16 Jul – 6 Oct 2012), Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
The Tempest – Royal Shakespeare Company (30 Mar – 7 Oct 2012), Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Twelfth Night – Royal Shakespeare Company (8 Mar – 6 Oct 2012), Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

North of England

Golden Threads (19 May – 16 Sep 2012), Bradford Imperial Museum, Bradford

The London 2012 Festival is the finale of the Cultural Olympiad. Since the Cultural Olympiad started in 2008 over 18 million people all over the UK have already participated in or attended over 9,000 performances and more than 8,000 workshops as part of Cultural Olympiad programmes inspired by London 2012 and funded by our principal funders and sponsors.

Principal Funders of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival are Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor. BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival.

Supporters of the London 2012 Festival are BMW,Eurostar, Freshfields, King’s College London, Panasonic, Samsung, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales, BBC, British Council, Creative Scotland, DCAL, DCMS, Festivals Edinburgh, Mayor Of London, Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Visit Britain and Visit Scotland.

The Official London 2012 Join In app is a free mobile guide to help you plan, enjoy and share your Games experience. From the Olympic Torch Relay to the Olympics and Paralympics, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, plus all the cultural, city and community celebrations happening across the UK, the Official London 2012 Join In App is your essential companion. It is available now at app stores and at http://www.london2012.com/mobileapps/

London 2012 Games partners:

The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.

LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners – adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto,Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and two domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Suppliers, Otto Bock and Panasonic. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery.