The organisers of the festival will be making up to 10 million tickets for the events, which comprise the full artistic spectrum of theatre, dance, art, literature, film and fashion, available free of charge to the public.

A series of events will take place on June 21 to open the festival, with Peace One Day founder Jeremy Gilley and ambassador Jude Law at an all-star concert in Derry/Londonderry, whilst in Scotland, The Big Concert will feature Venezuelan superstar Gustavo Dudamel (pictured).

The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra will be holding an open-air concert against the backdrop of Scotland's iconic Stirling Castle, and in Birmingham at the city's Symphony Hall their orchestra will present the UK premiere of Weltethos, an epic choral work by Jonathan Harvey.

In Cumbria, French street arts company Les Commandos Percu (pictured below) will put on a spectacular outdoor show, "On the Night Shift", created especially for the London 2012 Festival, and the World Shakespeare Festival will be another highlight of the summer extravaganza.


Speaking to insidethegames, the chair of the Cultural Olympiad board Tony Hall said: "Pierre de Coubertin [founder of the International Olympic Committee and founder of the Modern Olympics] had a vision that culture and sport ran hand in hand, but then the two parted and we lost the culture.

"I think that the UK has the best chance to get culture and sport together and get a huge celebration out of it.

"There are so many things I want to go and see, I'm going to go and buy myself a really nice bell and see Dudamel as I believe in the power of music to do amazing things.

"It is really important [to spread it across the country], this is a chance to redefine how people view the UK, and see it as a really creative nation."

Ruth Mackenzie, the director of the Cultural Olympiad, said at the announcement of the programme: "From June 21 to September 9, across the whole of the UK, new work from the best artists, musicians, writers, comedians, film makers and other creative talent will be presented in the largest festival in the country.

"The festival will offer a once in a lifetime chance to be inspired by the best in the world."

Mayor of London Boris Johnson added: "This quite extraordinary line up of artists, performers, events and activities will ensure that in London and throughout the country there is something for everyone to enjoy, to be thrilled and be inspired by."

To find out more about tickets and how to apply, the public are encouraged to sign up to the London 2012 Festival website here.

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