Cultural Olympiad
The four year London 2012 Cultural Olympiad has been the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Games.
London 2012 Festival
The Cultural Olympiad culminated in the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration of the world’s best music, theatre, art, dance, literature and film.
In Westminster many events were free with something for everyone.
West End Live brought musical theatre to Trafalgar Square, with scenes from popular shows performed by the cast.
Big Dance Bus in Covent Garden and Leicester Square presented classical and traditional dances from around the world.
The Mayor's London Outdoor Arts Festival 2012 offered high quality family entertainment, with Showtime and Bandstand Marathon in Paddington Recreation Ground, and The Owl and the Pussy Cat, a floating opera on Regents' Canal in Little Venice.
The festival included Tony Cragg at Exhibition Road: the artist's first major show of outdoor sculptures in central London.
Ten Westminster community groups received a share of a £25,000 grant to run projects during summer 2012
Mmoloki Chrystie with the Amberley Youth Project: this art project inspired by Olympic values gave young people in Westminster opportunities to visit London Pleasure Gardens, the new arts and entertainment site on the official Olympic Last Mile route, East London.
Chinatown Arts Space provided young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with a chance to perform with their Urban Youth Junk band and take part in a performance of XX/XY, a new music 20x12 piece commissioned by LOCOG, and showcased at Music Day 2012 on 23rd June.
Cool Fusion with Pursuing Independent Paths: young adults with learning disabilities took part in a new mini-musical inspired by Olympics on 1 September at St Michael's Chester Square.
Jermyn Street Theatre: Westminster primary schools worked with the professional West End theatre company to create a play “Olympics - the Opening Ceremony” set in ancient Greece and performed at this leading studio theatre.
London International Festival of Theatre: recruited and trained volunteers to help with dance and acrobatics performances by New York based company STREB as part of London 2012 Festival in Trafalgar Square and other venues.
Paddington Arts: a joint digital media project for young people from Westminster and Barbados to show them Westminster cultural icons hosting Olympic events. They interviewed each other and the Barbados Olympic Team to produce a celebratory film screening and a digital magazine.
Serious About Youth (SAY): competition for Year 8 school students in secondary schools to design and build a model sports and cultural venue, judged by a panel of athletes, engineers music artists and architects. The work was displayed at a public showcase in September 2012.
South Westminster Community Festival: the popular annual community event transformed itself into the OlymPimlico! Carnival Parade as part of South West Fest 2012 offering entertainment, carnival workshops and many more taster sessions.
The Showroom: experienced local artist explored leisure and recreation spaces in the Church Street neighbourhood. Gallery workshops involved local research, interviews, photography, gardening and outdoor events that reflected on what the Olympics mean to a specific locality.
WAC Performing Arts and Media College: inspired young people from Queens Park to take part in photography celebrating Olympics values of success and achievement, culminating in an open exhibition for the public.
Read the press release here, or find out more from vitalinfo@vitalregen.org or 020 7245 2861.
Westminster residents have taken part in the Cultural Olympiad since 2008
One Year to Go (July 2011)
There were over 1,000 art, dance, music, film, sport and other events throughout the UK during the Open Weekend. In Westminster these included:
Launching L.E.A.P (London Experience of Art du Deplacement & Parkour) the UK's only and largest purpose-built Managed Parkour Park.
Watching the Tate Movie in Trafalgar Square, The Itch of the Golden Nit! created by thousands of children across the UK and produced by Aardman Animations.
Storytelling at the National Portrait Gallery, A Sporting Chance the epic adventure of a boy who dreams of competing in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
FUSE (Open Weekend July 2010)
FUSE is a one-day free arts festival designed with and for young people. Organised by Royal Parks in partnership with Westminster City Council and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, an estimated 3,000-4,000 people attended throughout the day.
Click on the links below to download the evaluation report:
Passport 2 Pimlico (September 2009)
The Passport 2 Pimlico cultural trail took place in September 2009 with the aims of showcasing creative projects funded by the council and presented by local people in collaboration with some of the city's leading arts organisations. The trail was Westminster's contribution to the Cultural Olympiad for 2009.
Click here to read Passport 2 Pimlico report.
Culture 8, West London Arts Partnership (September 2008)
Culture 8 is a non-stop family festival of music, dance, sport, circus and street entertainment from West London's best.
Winners of the Westminster Dance Challenge were invited to showcase their piece at the Wembley Arena.
Culture 8 was awarded the Inspire Mark.
Click here for the West London Cultural Festival 2008 Evaluation Report.
Was this useful?
Whatever your interest, Westminster City Council welcomes and encourages you to get in touch with suggestions for improvements to the site. Please tell us how useful this page was to you.
