UK Celebrates London 2012 with a 12-week Nationwide Festival

From the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, to the remotest corner of the Shetland Islands, from the Raploch Estate in Scotland to Hadrian’s Wall on England’s most Northern border, from Stonehenge to the shores of Lake Windermere, from the forests of North Wales and right into the heart of the capital, the London 2012 Festival will celebrate the huge range, quality and accessibility of the UK’s world-class culture.

London 2012 today (4 November) launched the programme for the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK, opening on Midsummer’s Day 21 June and running until 9 September 2012.

From the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, to the remotest corner of the Shetland Islands, from the Raploch Estate in Scotland to Hadrian’s Wall on England’s most Northern border, from Stonehenge to the shores of Lake Windermere, from the forests of North Wales and right into the heart of the capital, the London 2012 Festival will celebrate the huge range, quality and accessibility of the UK’s world-class culture, and give the opportunity for people across the UK to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

For information on how to access tickets, including free tickets, people are encouraged to sign up to the London 2012 Festival website.

London 2012 Festival opens with a burst of events all over the country on Midsummer’s Day highlighted by a series of spectacular concerts; In Northern Ireland, Peace One Day founder Jeremy Gilley and ambassador Jude Law will mark the three-month countdown to Peace Day 2012 with an all-star concert in Derry/Londonderry; In Scotland, The Big Concert with Venezuelan superstar, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra will present a spectacular open-air concert set against the backdrop of Scotland’s Stirling Castle with its sweeping Ochil Hills and Wallace Monument, joined by young people from the Raploch Estate; in Birmingham's Symphony Hall, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will present the UK premiere of Weltethos, an epic choral work by Jonathan Harvey, performed by the joint forces of the CBSO and the CBSO Chorus, Youth Chorus and Children’s Chorus; and the pyrotechnicians and musicians of the French street arts company, Les Commandos Percu will bring the magic of music and fire to the shores of Lake Windermere in Cumbria in a spectacular outdoor show, On the Night Shift, created especially for the Festival. In London, an unparalleled programme of free events is being planned by the Mayor's Office working in partnership with artists and performers, which will take place in all 33 boroughs aimed at creating unforgettable experiences and memories for anyone in the city during the festival.

Highlights of the programme for London 2012 Festival include:

Theatre

The World Shakespeare Festival is a celebration of Shakespeare as the world's playwright, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in an unprecedented collaboration with leading UK and international arts organisations, and with Globe to Globe, a major international programme produced by Shakespeare's Globe.

Supported by Founding Presenting Partner BP, the World Shakespeare Festival is bringing together thousands of artists and over 50 arts organisations to present major new productions, groundbreaking collaborations and radical interpretations of Shakespeare’s work.

Productions will be presented by companies including the Wooster Group (USA), Ninagawa Company (Japan), National Theatre of China (China), Iraqi Theatre Company (Iraq), Companhia BufoMecânica (Brazil), Vakhtangov Theatre (Moscow), Artistes, Producteurs, Associés (Tunisia), and Teatr Warszawa (Poland). The BBC will present a new series of television productions.

Thousands of amateurs from all over the UK have been invited to work with the RSC and nine partner theatres to perform their own interpretations of Shakespeare in castles, parks, village halls, pubs and churches and in a summer season at Stratford-on-Avon.

Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru will present The Tempest at the National Eisteddfod in a new Welsh translation by Gwyneth Lewis.

Alongside the live programme, The British Museum will present Shakespeare: Staging The World – The BP exhibition, a major exhibition investigating the importance of Shakespeare in shaping a new sense of national identity by examining artefacts including maps, prints, manuscripts, and medals, through the lens of Shakespeare’s plays.

To celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday, award-winning actor Mark Rylance will present To Be or Not To Be: Shakespeare Encountered, pop-up performances of Shakespeare’s sonnets and speeches around Central London being presented in partnership between London 2012 and the Mayor of London.

The London 2012 Festival will celebrate the work of Alan Ayckbourn, with two plays presented in an exciting new collaboration between two award-winning theatres of international importance, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough and Chichester Festival Theatre. Alongside a revival of one of Ayckbourn’s best-loved works, he will direct the world premiere of his 76th play. In a major initiative for children and young people, theatres across the country will stage Ayckbourn’s innovative plays for children.