Olympic arts festival to feature a winning line-up
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The actress Cate Blanchett, musician Damon Albarn and pop artist David Hockney will have starring roles in the arts festival to mark the London 2012 Olympic Games.
They are part of a line-up that is commissioned for a 12-week arts marathon, running between 21 June 2012 and 9 September 2012. Over 1,000 nationwide events ranging from dance, music, theatre, visual arts, film and digital work are being planned in the hope of drawing over three million people.
Announcing the first festival commissions at the Royal Opera House in central London, Tony Hall, the Cultural Olympiad board chair, hoped it would be a "wonderful finale" to the four-year run-up to London 2012. Major exhibitions of work by Hockney and realist painter Lucian Freud are to be staged, while contemporary artists Rachel Whiteread and Olafur Eliasson are working on special commissions.
Albarn is working with Rufus Norris and Jamie Hewlett on a new musical production that will debut at the Manchester International Festival (MIF), a joint commission with the English National Opera for London 2012.
The Oscar-winning actress Blanchett will be part of an Australian cast tackling a new adaptation of German playwright Botho Strauss's work Gross und Klein.
The World Shakespeare Festival, by the Royal Shakespeare Company, will celebrate the playwright's work at venues across London.
The festival is being funded by the Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor. BP and BT are also backers.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments