Today saw the launch of the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12 week celebration across the UK marking the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad and, of course, the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The festival will bring together the best home grown and international artists and performers in a programme of events running from 21 June to 9 September 2012.

The festival will open with a spectacular series of events on Midsummer's Day. This will include an all-star concert hosted by Jeremy Gilley and Jude Law in Derry to mark the three month countdown to Peace Day 2012, the acclaimed Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra performing in Stirling and the UK premiere of a new choral work by Jonathan Harvey performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, CBSO Chorus, Youth Chorus and Children's Chorus.

The fourth showpiece event opening the festival will feature the musicians and pyrotechnicians of Les Commandos Percu performing by Lake Windermere as part of next year’s Lakes Alive festival. As Legacy Trust UK is a principal funder of the Cultural Olympiad, several funded projects including Big Dance, Tate Movie Project, Speed of Light and Carnival Crossroads are being included as part of the festival programme.

Other highlights across a range of art forms include the London debut of Damon Albarn’s opera Dr Dee, the World Shakespeare Festival and Martin Creed’s Work No. 1197: All the bells in a country rung as quickly and loudly as possible for three minutes, to mark the opening day of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on 27 July.

Ruth Mackenzie, Director, Cultural Olympiad, said: “From 21 June to 9 September 2012, 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. From food to fashion, street dance to digital, and pop to opera, the festival will offer once in a lifetime chance to be inspired by the best in the world. I would like to thank our Premier Partners BP and BT and Principle Funders Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor for making it possible”.

For more information, visit the London 2012 Festival website.