The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements. The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad will be the London 2012 Festival, bringing leading artists from all over the world together from 21 June 2012 in the UK’s biggest ever festival – a chance for everyone to celebrate London 2012 through dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, film and digital innovation, and leave a lasting legacy for the arts in the UK.
The London 2012 Games are not just about sport. They will also celebrate cultures, people and languages – in London, the UK and around the world.
The Cultural Olympiad will open up opportunities for people across the UK to visit spaces, places and people and get them involved in imaginative, thought-provoking creative activities. Just a few of these opportunities are listed below.
The BEAT 2012 Games Dance Project Inspired by the 2012 Games the Beat is an exciting and innovative online dance support resource for schools, colleges and community groups. Developed and delivered by Dance Offensive, it is designed with accessibility in mind and offers entry level choreography in short chapters that build up to a complete sport inspired dance performance piece. The sequences are demonstrated by the Company’s young dancers, offering immediate recognition and accessibility to their school group peers. It also features a specially commissioned soundtrack, competitions and three extensive galleries that allow you to develop your piece with more complex and demanding sequences, moves and imagery! The project launches on January 1st 2012 and you can sample the resource by visiting: http://beatproject.danceoffensive.com/
Quilts 4 London Help make 14,000 Pennants for the Olympic Athletes at the London 2012 Games, A Community Project - part of The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad
Visit the On Landguard Point website where details of public events, including performance, music, dance and crafts being made by professional and non-professional performers and participants, are all featured. Pacitti Company is creating On Landguard Point as part of Artists taking the lead, a major project at the heart of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, funded by Arts Council England. It gives information on activities that you can get directly involved with too -right now they need your help with The People’s Encyclopedia for the East of England - an Encyclopedia that tells the story of our region – its places, people, histories, myths, folklore, dreams and futures.
Live Arts Collective East (LACE) are currently working on a series of projects for Summer 2012 which will involve several artists commissions, a broadcast package and a mass participation hopscotch event. 3 Step Endeavour The UK’s first professional Hopscotch Team are now well into their training. In summer 2012 they will be touring the Eastern region encouraging people to participate in their scaled-down sports stadium experience as either a Trainee Professional Hopscotcher or an active Spectator.
Cambridgeshire Competes: collections come together for London 2012. This exciting project was launched in July 2011 and sees an Olympic exhibition trail running from June 2012, through the Paralympics (September 2012) until December 2012. The project involves museums, sports facilities and YOU. There will be: linked family and adult events where you can learn more about Olympic history and explore local connections to the Olympics through talks and take part in family activities. Sporting activity taster sessions for the public and school students to increase and encourage participation in sport. Memory collecting days where we invite Cambridgeshire and Peterborough residents to contribute by sharing their hidden histories as: spectators in the past during the Games plus provide memories of their sporting heroes. A special project will work with the Portuguese community and the Mozambique National Olympic Team. For further information contact Karen Chancellor on info@cambridgeshirecompetes.org.uk
Leading to 2012 we will see cultural projects across the whole of the UK inspired by the Olympic spirit and by the Cultural Olympiad values – which are to:
- welcome the world
- involve and inspire young people
- create a lasting and positive legacy
For more information on London 2012 in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough visit the GOLD website. GOLD is the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Coordinating Group from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Cultural Olympiad.
Regional Creative Programmers have a particular focus on supporting local and regional projects as well as helping shape the UK-wide programme. For further information contact:
Liz Hughes Creative Programmer - East of England London 2012 email: liz.hughes@artscouncil.org.uk Tel: 01223 454435