London's Olympic organizers outlined a celebrates of arts events Thursday to coincide with the 2012 Summer Games, the Associated Press is reporting.
The festival kicks off with performances of Shakespeare and will incorporate a wide range of arts, including an attempt to create the world's largest Bollywood dance. Artist Richard Wilson will recreate the final scene of the classic British crime film The Italian Job by dangling a bus off the De La Warr Pavillion in Bexhill, south of London.
Some 900 venues will be used for the festival, which runs from June 21-to September 9. We hear that artists like Cate Blanchett, Damien Hirst, Wynton Marsalis, Yoko Ono and Ai Wei Wei are set to take part.
More than 12,000 events will feature 25,000 artists—including representatives of every nation competing in the Summer Olympics, which start July 27 and end August 12. London is also hosting the Paralympics, which run August 29 to September 9.
Plans include a major concert from June 23-24 featuring Jay-Z, Rihanna and Florence + The Machine. Some 100,000 fans are expected for that event, which will take place at the Hackney Marshes in east London.