<^]S^]" !"6TbcXeP[ Official guide 21 June to 9 September Welcome to the London 2012 Festival! When the UK won the bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we promised that this ‘once in a lifetime’ event would include a great cultural programme that could involve people nationwide. When we are asked why, we go back to the example of Ancient Greece, where the Olympic Games included artists as well as athletes. As recently as the London 1948 Games, artists were awarded medals along with the athletes. This Festival has invited artists from all over the world to create amazing events from Shetland to Cornwall, from Enniskillen to Edinburgh, from Hackney to Hadrian’s Wall – with more than 10 million FREE opportunities to take part. The Festival would not be possible without our cultural and community partners throughout the UK. But most of all, it simply would not have happened without our great funding partners and sponsors. We offer our huge thanks to them for what we hope will be a fantastic Festival for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 9]bXSTcWTVdXST 5 Have a fabulous Festival 6 The Director’s cut Director Ruth Mackenzie gives a taste of the Seb Coe Tony Hall Festival programme Chair, London 2012 Chair, Cultural Organising Committee Olympiad Board 8 Where will you be on 21 June? Four sensational performances taking place on opening day The London 2012 Festival is only possible thanks to the exceptional 12 The unforgettable and generous support of our funders, sponsors and partners. We summer of 2012 are enormously grateful to the following: Once-in-a-lifetime experiences 18 The great art escape Premier Partners of the London 2012 Festival Find something amazing happening near you 20 Free London Cultural experiences across the city 22 Artists who change the world Astonishing bodies of work Principal Funders of the London 2012 Festival from Hitchcock to Hirst 24 Swing into action Ring a bell to give the Games a rousing start 26 Unmissable Unlimited Disabled artists take up Supporters of the London 2012 Festival the challenge 28 The kids are alright Performances and exhibitions for kids to enjoy 30 How to book tickets All the information you need 1ac4TbXV]5gWXQXcX^]b 32 Objects to inspire Thomas Heatherwick designs 33 Event listings " 3^\TSh ?dcS^^a3Pa]XeP[ 43 Playing it for laughs 78 Tricks of the light Stephen Fry curates at Fell runners illuminate the the Criterion Theatre landscape in Edinburgh 44 Event listings 79 Event listings 4P]RT @^TcahCc^ahcT[[X]V 46 Power and beauty 84 A world of words Dance inspired by The Poetry Parnassus festival extraordinary places 85 Event listings 47 Event listings DWTPcaT@TaU^a\P]RT 6X[\2a^PSRPbc4XVXcP[ 87 Artist of the theatre 53 New films The great director Robert Wilson Four new commissions by 87 Wine, madness and ecstasy exciting UK film-makers Three classics celebrating the 54 Event listings Greek god Dionysus 87 In the limelight =dbTd\b8TaXcPVT Julie Walters at the 58 Magnificent feats National Theatre Artefacts of Games history, 88 Event listings including how the medals 96 All the world’s a stage were forged A celebration of the world’s 59 Event listings playwright, plus event listings =dbXR 4PX[h4XPah 60 London’s great gig 106 Plan your Festival day by day Performances along 134 The road to Rio the Thames Passing the baton 62 Get in on the acts 138 Winning teamwork Radio 1’s biggest-ever Meet our sponsors free live music event 63 Event listings This page: Circa & I Fagiolini – How Like an Angel page 88 70 BBC Proms 2012 Front cover: Rachel Whiteread, LOndOn 2O12 Back cover: Tracey Emin, Birds 2012 How to Prom, plus full The posters are part of the Official London event listings 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Poster Display page 39 Find more information at london2012.com/festival # Tinie Tempah, BBC Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend 2012 page 64 Outdoor and Carnival page 78 $ Have a fabulous Festival There are millions of opportunities to take part in the London 2012 Festival, many completely free – here’s how to find something you’ll love ith thousands of have been created with families performances and and young people in mind – you events around the can also read about some of our UK, the London events for children on page 28-29. W2012 Festival promises an exciting summer of culture. It starts on The Festival on your 21 June and ends on 9 September, doorstep the last day of the Paralympic The Festival is bringing the spirit of Games. Whether you love dance, the Games to you, with thousands music, comedy, theatre, fashion, art of events in every corner of the UK. or film, you’ll find something you The Daily Diary is broken down by can get involved in. nation and region, so you can find something near you at a glance. Plan your Festival You can also search for events Inside you’ll find listings of all using your postcode or home town London 2012 Festival events at london2012.com/festival. taking place this summer – you can read about the highlights, Get connected browse events by artform category, We’ve crammed in as much as we or check out what’s happening can, but there’s even more to come! today in your area using the Daily We’ll be running some surprise Diary – it’s up to you! Dive in and pop-up events during the Festival, plan your festival. as well as offering plenty of exclusive looks behind-the-scenes, Hot tickets special ticket offers and Many events in the Festival are free competitions – and our online to attend, and these are clearly followers will be first to hear! marked in the listings with a FREE Our website also includes more symbol. For events where you need details on each Festival event, to reserve or buy a ticket in including access information, advance, we’ve given you the Box ticket prices, start times and video Office details of each venue. See previews. So make sure you don’t page 30 for more details on how miss out... the listings work. Visit us online at Bring the kids london2012.com/festival The Festival is all about getting Like us on Facebook: involved – so why not bring the facebook.com/london2012festival kids? The ‘family friendly’ symbol in Follow us on Twitter: the listings shows those events that @london2012fest Find more information at london2012.com/festival % ‘IF WE GET THE FESTIVAL RIGHT, PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER 2012 NOT JUST FOR AMAZING SPORT, BUT FOR UNFORGETTABLE ART AS WELL’ RUTH MACKENZIE LONDON 2012 FESTIVAL DIRECTOR rom Midsummer’s Day on 21 June to the last day of What can people do for free? The results are incredible, and the London 2012 Games on 9 September, the London It is really important that everybody I know that disabled artists will 2012 Festival hopes to astonish and delight the UK gets the chance to take part in the be up there in the greatest hits with an explosion of arts and creativity all over the London 2012 Festival, so we have of the London 2012 Festival. country.F There are more than 10 million free tickets and over 10 million FREE tickets and opportunities to take part: Festival Director Ruth Mackenzie opportunities – all over the UK, not Can people be creative invites you to join the fun. just in London. We have free and take part? concerts, exhibitions and special We really want people to take part, outdoor spectaculars at some of the to be creative themselves. With the UK’s most beautiful landmarks – Big Dance, for example, we hope How do you create a ‘once Stonehenge, the Tower of London, five million people will join us in in a lifetime’ festival? Giant’s Causeway, Zaha Hadid’s dancing all around the UK. This The Olympic and Paralympic new museum on the River Clyde, is the true spirit of the Cultural Games come to our home country the shore of Cardiff Bay and places Olympiad – the formal name of the once in a lifetime, and we faced near you. All free, but please check creative programme we have been the challenge to deliver a London if you need to book in advance. It’s running since 2008 with the help of 2012 Festival just as amazing. We a great chance to experiment with 16 million people, building up to its started by giving world-class artists something new, see artists or take finale, the London 2012 Festival. the same chance as the athletes: to part for free in events you may create once-in-a-lifetime special never experience again. What do you recommend? events – the best from around the With thousands of events, world working with the best of Have the Games inspired 10 million free tickets and British. We asked arts centres and the artists? opportunities, comedy and TV stars, creative leaders for their top ideas. Of course. Take the idea of world-famous musicians, top tips for Then we chose the most exciting to Olympic Truce: in Ancient Greece, the stars of tomorrow, artists new be in this showcase of brilliant all nations agreed to stop fighting and old from around the world and musicians, comics, film stars, to listen to the artists and watch spectacular venues all over the UK, museums, galleries, theatres, the athletes. The United Nations still where do I start? Only you can tell dance companies, carnival makers, has a resolution before each us what was unforgettable – what acrobats, poets and much, much Games, and this year we can will go down in history as the best more.