As you may remember, in January 2011 the Trust announced that four projects had been awarded £750k to create outdoor spectaculars in their area during 2012. Nearly a year on, these projects have made huge strides in developing and planning their show stopping events this coming summer.

Games Time in the East Midlands kicked off in July 2011 with an early event in Skegness, which we featured in our Autumn newsletter. The project features an oversized board-game brought to life by dancers, carnival costumes, music and fireworks and features people from the local community competing as part of a giant performance involving kings, queens, executioners and mythical creatures.

The team have since announced the dates and locations for the 2012 performances. They are:

9 June, Loughborough
7 July, Northampton
22 September, Derby

Land of Giants in Northern Ireland is inspired by the country’s heritage and will combine acrobatics, aerial dance and carnival, circus, music, multi-media and pyrotechnics, presenting a unique and epic spectacle to an audience of over 20,000 in Belfast on 30 June 2012. The project has already started their outreach programme and training local community members in drumming and aerial performance work. Wider community engagement work will begin in early 2012.

Tree of Light will celebrate the South East of England’s natural environment. Participants from schools and community groups along the River Thames will take part in performances in Oxford, Henley, Reading and Windsor around a central Tree of Light – a monumental, sculptured work of art – in visually stunning spectacle events featuring music, choreography and cutting edge digital arts. Performance dates have now been finalised:

30 June, Windsor
9 July, Oxford
10 July, Reading
21 July, Stonor Park

Speed of Light in Scotland is a fusion of sport and culture which will see Edinburgh’s iconic Arthur’s Seat brought to life through sporting endeavour and performative visual art. Runners will activate specially designed light suits at night, illuminating the hillside while audiences generate their own light through the movement of bespoke walking staffs as they ascend to the summit. The project needs 5,000 runners for the event over a three week period from 9 August to 1 September and has already had more than 1,500 registrations. To sign up visit the Speed of Light website. Tickets for audience members are available from March 2012 through the Edinburgh International Festival website www.eif.co.uk.