West Midlands Cultural Olympiad brochure

www.london2012.com/festival

What’s On Guide 2nd Edition

London 2012 Festival and Cultural Olympiad across the West Midlands

Hundreds of FREE events

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This year…

Get ready for a summer like no other

London 2012’s Cultural Olympiad and its finale, the London 2012 Festival, will see some of the world’s greatest artists headlining the biggest celebration of art and culture that the UK has ever seen.

From major world and UK premieres, mass outdoor dance spectaculars such as The Voyage, numerous Bandstand Marathon concerts, a new suite of Welcome Songs by folk musician Eliza Carthy and the very first full performance of Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht/ Wednesday from Light anywhere in the world, the line-up in the West Midlands will generate some of the most unforgettable moments of 2012.

None of this would have been possible without the hard work of organisations and artists around the region, and in particular without the very generous support of our two key partners Arts Council England and Legacy Trust UK. Arts Council England’s mission is for there to be ‘great art for everyone’ and that’s exactly what the Cultural Olympiad is all about.

Legacy Trust UK was set up to leave a lasting legacy from London 2012, and over the past three years we’ve been working together, providing opportunities for people to try something new – whether that be a new sport as part of Community Games, or Punjabi folk dancing as part of Dancing for the Games.

Through these programmes hundreds of thousands of people have already been able to be part of London 2012 and we hope that through the events listed in these pages, thousands more will be able to join them for a summer like no other.

David Moorcroft

David Moorcroft Chair, West Midlands for 2012

Search for events near you Wmfor2012.com t @WestMidsfor2012 Review and post at f /thegamesandme www.london2012.com/festival t #London2012Fest

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Style Africa

Style Africa

Daily until 2 September 10am – 5pm

FREE

Style Africa is a vibrant new exhibition of West African textiles and clothing. Curators from Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery have joined forces with young people to show how these colourful fabrics are made and how Africans use their clothing to create their own individual styles and fashions.

Sporting Heroes Monday – Friday until 9 September 10am – 5pm Celebrate Shropshire’s rich sporting heritage at the Sporting Heroes exhibition.

Historic images from Ironbridge’s archives show coracle racing and local football and cricket teams.

See memorabilia linked to some of Shropshire’s greatest sporting heroes, including England footballing legend, Billy Wright.

Free Coalbrookdale Gallery, Enginuity, Ironbridge Gorge Museums, Coach Road, Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7DQ www.ironbridge.org.uk FREE

Free

The Science of Sport Daily until 9 September 10am – 5pm Explore the science behind the record-breaking performances of the world’s greatest athletes at The Science of Sport exhibition. Discover how space-age materials and innovative designs have shaped the sporting world in this technologicallyadvanced exhibition.

The Science of Sport is part of Stories of the World, which aims to showcase innovation and excellence in museums, libraries and archives to a worldwide audience.

Ticket is included in admission fee to Enginuity (£8.25 for adults, £6.95 for concessions) Enginuity, Ironbridge Gorge Museums, Coach Road, Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7DQ www.ironbridge.org.uk

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, B3 3DH www.bmag.org.uk

Kalaboration 18 June – 9 September 2012 is an important year for the Jamaican community in the West Midlands – not only is the Jamaican athletics team setting up camp in Birmingham before the Games, but it is also the 50th anniversary of Jamaican Independence. The Drum is marking this momentous year through Kalaboration, a series of visual arts workshops, exhibitions and lectures.

Exhibitions will include Jaskirt Dhaliwal’s Everyday Olympian, a photo exhibition which documents people involved in local community sports, and Freestylee – Artist without Borders, an exhibition of poster art by internationally acclaimed Jamaican artist Michael Thompson.

There will also be a series of lectures and panel discussions and an exhibition by young people that highlights their opinions on London 2012 through dance, drama and photography.

Free The Drum, 44 Potters Lane, Aston, Birmingham, B6 4UU www.kalaboration.co.uk www.rogueplay.co.uk

FREE

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Community Games Throughout 2012 Admission Free Further information www.communitygames.org.uk

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Looking for a way to celebrate London 2012 with your friends, family and neighbours?

Community Games is a fantastic opportunity to do just that!

Two examples of Community Games events happening this summer:

From dancing to archery to welly wanging, every Community Games is unique and reflects the community that has organised them.

Pinvin Community Sports Day

Sutton Coldfield Community Games

16 June 12 – 4pm

14 – 15 July

There will be hundreds of Community Games events right across the country this year and you can find the nearest one to you by visiting www.communitygames.org.uk.

Or if you’re feeling really inspired, why not organise your own Games? You don’t need any prior experience or particular skills to run a Games as we have lots of resources to help you – just visit the website to find out more and read these two examples of upcoming Community Games for inspiration.

At the Pinvin Community Sports Day in Worcestershire all generations will be encouraged to join in and have fun together.

Activities on offer will include a number of sports for teams and individuals and for children and adults. There will even be a grandparent and child event and a wheelchair race.

There’ll be plenty of opportunity to get together and chat with neighbours, either at the community barbeque or one of the fundraising stalls. Medals made on the day will be handed out to participants and everyone will receive a Community Games certificate at the closing ceremony.

Free Main Street, Pinvin, Pershore, WR10 2ER

Dennis Kennedy has always been interested in sport and had always intended to mark London 2012 in some way. However, he didn’t expect this to be through an event that aims to attract 10,000 people to take part in sport and culture!

The Sutton Coldfield Community Games intends to do just that, with over 40 different sporting and cultural events, including football, sailing, music, tennis, dance, volleyball and zumba. As well as opening and closing ceremonies, there will be dance routines performed by local school children and a teddy bear’s picnic.

Free Wyndley Leisure Centre and Sutton Park, Clifton Road, Birmingham B73 6EB www.sccg2012.co.uk

Visit www.communitygames.org.uk for details of hundreds more Community Games planned this summer Check website for an event near you

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London 2012 Live Sites until September

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Birmingham and Coventry’s Live Sites will be the places to get together to watch live coverage of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Live Sites will follow the journey of the Olympic Torch, which will visit Birmingham on 30 June, departing at 6.30am on 1 July. It will arrive in Coventry on 1 July and leave at 6.30am on 2 July.

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Decathlon until September

The Live Sites will also feature a range of arts events inspired by the Games, such as The Voyage (p. 28), We Dance (p. 39) and Mandala (p. 56), as well as showing footage of Boys Dancing (p. 23) and Godiva Awakes (p. 50).

And of course, throughout the Olympic fortnight the Live Sites will show live sport from 7am to 11pm every day, as well as coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Admission Free Locations Victoria Square, Birmingham Millennium Place, Coventry

Further information www.london2012.com/live-sites www.bbc.co.uk/bigscreens www.facebook.com/ bigscreenbirmingham www.facebook.com/ bigscreencoventry

High Jump 25 May 6pm 110m Hurdles 26 May – 10 June Shot Putt June onwards

confirmed including High Jump, a rehearsed reading of eight 5 minute pieces of writing, 110m Hurdles, an exhibition of 11 large sized portraits of local people in front of Coventry landmarks and Shot Putt, a participatory pirate shot putt game to play on your mobile phone.

Talking Birds is giving you the chance to take part in a decathlon in 2012... without even getting out of breath.

Talking Birds is gearing up for London 2012 with its own unique take on the ten events of the decathlon.

Add in these addresses at the bottom:

Decathlon features musical, theatrical, filmic and photographic interpretations of all ten decathlon events, including a piece that has been specifically created to welcome the Olympic Flame to Coventry.

110m Hurdles is at The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Jordan Well, Coventry, CV1 5QP

Each interpretation will be performed across the West Midlands during 2012, with events

High Jump is at Capital Plays Festival, mac Birmingham, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH

A downloadable app will be available in June. www.talkingbirds.co.uk www.twitter.com/birdmail

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CORE

by Kurt Hentschläger

Step into a new digital creation of movement and sound at Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

23 March – 30 September 10 – 5pm

CORE features giant projections, which give a glimpse into a weightless world populated by humanoid figures in extreme motion.

Admission Free Location The Engine Shop, Enginuity, Ironbridge Gorge Museums, Coach Road, Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7DQ Further information www.ironbridge.org.uk

“(CORE) …could have been purpose-built to confound expectations. Here, in the rock-solid heartland of the industrial age, we are celebrating fluidity, ghostliness, ephemerality.”

Financial Times

It’s designed by international artist Kurt Hentschläger, whose work has been shown in major international exhibitions, including Venice Biennale, National Museum of China, Beijing and PS1, New York.

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The World Shakespeare Festival until October

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Further information www.worldshakespearefestival org.uk

Experience Shakespeare as never before – from This Poor Trash of Venice, to the epic political thriller: A Soldier in Every Son – The Rise of the Aztecs.

The World Shakespeare Festival is a celebration of Shakespeare as the world’s playwright, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in an unprecedented collaboration with leading UK and international arts organisations and with Globe to Globe, a major international programme produced by Shakespeare’s Globe.

The World Shakespeare Festival has been called the ‘jewel in the crown’ of London 2012 Festival and as it is produced by our own Royal Shakespeare Company, here in the West Midlands we’ll get to see many of the productions first.

Admission Ticketed Location Royal Shakespeare Theatres, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 6BB and The Old Rep Theatre, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY

There will be an exciting new collaboration between Birmingham Rep and Barcelona Internacional Teatre and two bold collaborations by the RSC with the Wooster Group

(USA) and the National Theatre of Mexico, plus visiting shows in Stratfordupon-Avon from Moscow and Rio de Janiero.

The RSC will also be presenting an Indian Much Ado About Nothing starring Meera Syal and an African Julius Caesar with citizens of Rome drawn from the local community.

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All productions in Stratford-upon-Avon (except where indicated)

Twelfth Night

I, Cinna (The Poet)

Troilus and Cressida

8 March – 6 October Tickets from £12, Royal Shakespeare Theatre

13 June – 6 July Tickets from £5, Swan Theatre

3 – 18 August Tickets from £8, Swan Theatre

The Comedy of Errors

29 June – 28 July Tickets from £8, Swan Theatre

16 March – 6 October Tickets from £12, Royal Shakespeare Theatre

A Soldier in Every Son – The Rise of the Aztecs

This Poor Trash of Venice

22 March – 15 September Tickets from £8, Swan Theatre

3 – 4 July Tickets £3, Royal Shakespeare Theatre

The Tempest

Pilot Night

30 March – 7 October Tickets from £12, Royal Shakespeare Theatre

12 July Tickets £5, Courtyard Theatre

Richard III

King John

Open Stages Showcase

6 April – 15 September Tickets from £8, Swan Theatre

15 – 22 July Tickets from £4, Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Stan’s Café: Of All The People In All The World

RSC Young Company present Henry V

14 April – 29 July Free, PACCAR Room

Julius Caesar 28 May – 7 July Tickets from £12, Royal Shakespeare Theatre

24 July Tickets from £3, Swan Theatre

Much Ado About Nothing 26 July – 15 September Tickets from £12, Courtyard Theatre

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It) 10 – 18 August Tickets from £12, Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Forests 31 August – 15 September Tickets from £8, Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham

A Tender Thing 27 September – 20 October Tickets from £8, Swan Theatre

Open Stages 13, 14, 15, 21 & 22 July The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Open Stages is a new project that aims to embrace, develop and celebrate amateur theatre, re-forging the bond with the world of professional theatre.

Over 260 amateur companies have signed up to produce RSC Open Stages productions across the UK, from Penzance to the Isle of Skye, with over 6,400 people taking part. Productions have been performed everywhere from castles to village halls, beaches to ballrooms, supermarkets to forests, with many being performed in the hundreds of successful amateur-run theatres around the country.

As part of The World Shakespeare Festival some of RSC Open Stages’ most exciting amateur companies will perform at the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Visit www.worldshakespearefestival.org.uk to find out who will be performing.

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Breathe the Beat Roadshows until August Each Breathe the Beat roadshow offers a spectacular day of free dance performances and workshops, including appearances from two of the UK’s leading street dancers – Brooke and Roxy from Hip Hop International World Champions Plague Dance Crew.

There will be showcases from local talent and professional dance companies, as well as music from DJ Moyma.

Salah

A unique digital project from international hip-hop artist Salah, Breathe the Beat is looking for a wide range of high quality dance performers and groups of any style, from hip-hop to Bhangra to perform solos, duets or group pieces.

Please visit www. breathethebeat.com to find out more.

Dates and locations Saturday 16 June Sunday 17 June Saturday 23 June Saturday 30 June Sunday 1 July Sunday 8 July

Saturday 14 July Saturday 21 July Sunday 22 July Saturday 4 August

Leamington Spa Peace Festival, Leamington Spa, CV32 3AA 12pm Bantock House, Bantock Park, Wolverhampton, WV3 9LQ Sutton Coldfield Carnival, Birmingham, B74 2YT 2pm – late GLOW Dance Festival 2012, Castle Green, Hereford, HR1 2NW 2pm – 8pm Stafford Castle, Staffordshire, ST16 1DJ 12pm – 6pm Dudley Summer Arts Festival, Dudley College, Broadway Campus, DY1 4AS 11am – 5pm Tudor Grange Park, Solihull, B91 1NB 12 – 5pm Culture Fest, Telford Town Park, Telford, TF4 3NZ 12 – 6pm Simmer Down Festival, Handsworth Park, Birmingham, B20 2BY 11am – 3pm Shrewsbury Summer Season, Market Square, Shrewsbury, SY1 1LH 12pm

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Spill – a playground of dance until July Each performance will be unique, as the show scrambles around, over, under and through swings, slides and roundabouts.

Kids will love it, grown-ups will love it too! An exciting new commission by celebrated Australian artist Shaun Parker, Spill has been created specifically for parks in the West Midlands, aiming to take dance to the heart of the region’s communities.

Highly playful and physical – and at times teasingly comical – Spill is a cheeky dance celebration of the child within. Combining quirky, dynamic dance with high energy street gymnastics, the dancers in this performance blaze a colourful trail across the structures and landscapes of the playground.

Admission Free Further information www.dancexchange.org.uk/spill

19 June 20 June 21 June 22 June 23 June 27 June 28 June 29 June 30 June 1 July 11 July 12 July 13 July 13 July

14 July 15 July

Tudor Grange Park, Blossomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1NB Merdian Park, Moorend Avenue, Chelmsley Wood, B37 Allesley Park, Allesley Hall Drive, Coventry, CV5 9AD Abbey Fields, Bridge Street, Kenilworth, CV8 1BP St Nicholas Park, Warwick, CV34 4QY Telford Town Park, Dark Lane, Telford, TF4 3NZ The Quarry, Priory, Road Shrewsbury, SY1 1RX Birchmeadow Park, Birchmeadow Rd, Broseley, TF12 5LP Donnington Park, Gibbons Rd, Telford, TF2 7JR The Mere, Ellesmere, SY12 0DQ Arrow Valley Park, Battens Drive, Redditch, Worcestershire, B98 0LJ Ledbury Park, Bye Street, Ledbury, HR8 2AG Victoria Park, Pickersleigh Road, Malvern, WR14 2LP Dukes Meadow Playing Fields, Grove Road play area, Malvern, WR14 2LU King George Playing Fields, St Martin’s Avenue, HR2 7RQ Gheluvelt Park, Barbourne Road, Worcester, WR1 3ET

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Glass Games 2012

Discovering Places

until September

Discovering Places is the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad campaign to inspire the UK to discover their local environment.

Glass Games explores the spirit of London 2012 in a summertime feast of shows, workshops, exhibitions and demonstrations that highlight the talent and creativity of artists and craftspeople working with glass.

Good Sport until 1 September Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 5pm Good Sport is an exhibition about sport that celebrates taking part, whether as a skilled player, passionate fan or avid collector.

It will include work by Neville Gabie, artist in residence at the Olympic Park until December 2011.

There will be a selection of Gabie’s Playing Away photographs, which show makeshift goal posts found in unexpected places.

Over the course of the exhibition there will also be three days of free family craft workshops.

Free The New Art Gallery Walsall, Gallery Square, Walsall, WS2 8LG www.thenewartgallerywalsall. org.uk

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Highlights of Glass Games include Blood & Bones (March – 5 August) a solo exhibition by Patricia Niemann that explores the human body, Medallions (13 August – 15 September), which presents imaginative interpretations of Olympic medals from many leading glass artists, and the International Festival of Glass 2012 (24 – 27 August), which celebrates the unique glass making heritage of the Black Country through world class exhibitions, demonstrations, open studios, family events and lectures in venues around the Black Country.

Most events free, some ticketed.

Blood & Bones is at Broadfield House Glass Museum, Compton Drive, Kingswinford, West Midlands, DY6 9NS Medallions is at The Ruskin Glass Centre, Wollaston Road, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 4HF

International Festival of Glass 2012 is at The Red House Glass Cone, High Street, Wordsley, Stourbridge, DY8 4AZ and other venues across the Black Country www.cgs.org.uk

The following are Meet the Species events helping to find and identify 2,012 species of UK wildlife before the end of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Moving Earth Saturday 2 June 2.30pm Sampad has brought together 240 dancers from across the region representing a dazzling array of styles including Bollywood, bhangra, Indian folk dance, hiphop and contemporary African and UK dance.

With direction from internationally-renowned dancer Santosh Kumar Nair, the groups have developed new dance routines inspired by the theme of ecology.

All 240 dancers will come together on 2 June for a colourful and visually-striking performance that captures the spirit and energy of the natural elements: space, air, fire, water and earth. The performance forms part of Birmingham’s Big Jubilee Weekend, a 4 day extravaganza of music and entertainment.

Free Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, B3 3DH www.sampad.org.uk

Meet the Species: Bat Walk and Talk 22 June 9.30pm – 11pm An opportunity to discover the amazing nocturnal world of our most enigmatic native mammals. With luck you may encounter several species including Noctule, Common and Soprano Pipistrelles and Daubentons.

The walk is aimed at everyone with an interest in nature, aged from 7 to 107!

Free Palmers Meadow, Tenbury Wells, Tenbury Wells www.worcestershirebats.btck.co.uk

Meet the Species: Hay Making Festival 23 June 11am – 4pm Join Natural England and the Friends of Mottey Meadows for a festival of hay making with lots of displays, rural crafts, kids activities, ferret racing, tractor rides, guided walks and a hog roast. All are welcome.

Free Mottey Meadows National Nature Reserve, Wheaton Aston, Staffordshire www.naturalengland.org.uk

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Faster...

27 – 31 June Evenings 7.30pm Matinee performances 28 June 2pm 30 June 2.30pm

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Faster... is a new one act ballet by Birmingham Royal Ballet’s David Bintley CBE and composer Matthew Hindson inspired by the Olympic motto, ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’.

Inspired by London 2012, the ballet will explore the themes of speed, power and athleticism and will premiere in the run up to the Games in Birmingham on 27 June.

Faster... forms part of BRB’s Summer Celebration and is one of three ballets performed each evening. The programme also includes The Grand Tour, a playful piece set in the roaring 1920s, and the Shakespeare inspired The Dream.

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Boys Dancing Live Friday 29 June 7.30pm Lads from Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire take to the stage and bring energy, inventiveness and skills to the final live show of three year project, Boys Dancing.

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Itch of the Golden Nit 23 June – 21 July Thousands of drawings, sound effects and story ideas make up this actionpacked, half-hour animation, voiced

by British talent including David Walliams and Catherine Tate.

Tickets £4

The BAFTA-award winning film follows 11-year-old hero Beanie as his bland life changes forever when Evil Stella and her flaming sidekick Fireboy show up in his back garden one day after school.

The Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst Street, Birmingham, B5 4TB

Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL

The film was brought together by Tate and the creative magic of Aardman Animation.

www.brb.org.uk

www.boysdancing.org

Ticket price TBC

Tickets from £16

Stratford Upon Avon Picture House, Windsor Street, CV37 6NL www.picturehouses.co.uk

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GLOW Dance Festival 2012

London 2012 Festival

30 June 2pm until late

21 June – 9 September

GLOW is the spectacular finale to hr1, an eighteenmonth dance project taking place across Herefordshire.

The Warm-Up: GLOW kicks off with a festival style afternoon event fizzing with dance to see and do.

Featuring a Breathe the Beat Roadshow (see page 16), tea dances, b-boy competitions, a ballroom blitz, dance films, and dance classes.

and music, culminating in an unforgettable torch-lit finale.

The Blaze: At night, the Castle Green is transformed as a spectacular dance show brings the site to life in a mesmerising mix of dance

Tickets £15

The Chill Out: With live music, DJ’s, a silent Ceildh and Disco, a bar and lots of food stalls all day and evening, there’s plenty of opportunity to soak up the atmosphere.

Castle Green, Hereford, HR1 2NW www.hr1.2faceddance.co.uk

Before the sport begins, the London 2012 Festival will announce the arrival of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the UK with a world-class series of arts performances.

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From unforgettable moments by some of the world’s leading artists, to spectacular dance events and premieres, London 2012 Festival will celebrate all that is brilliant and inspirational about the West Midlands.

Highlights include a special opening night concert performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (p. 26), Eliza Carthy’s suite of Welcome Songs (p. 40), the World Shakespeare Festival (p. 12) and Birmingham Opera Company’s production of Mittwoch aus Licht/ Wednesday from Light (p. 52)

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Weltethos

by Jonathan Harvey 21 June 7.30pm Admission Tickets £20 Location Symphony Hall, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2EA Further information www.cbso.co.uk

This is the first UK performance of Weltethos, an epic new choral work by composer Jonathan Harvey.

in Sutton Coldfield in 1939 and widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest contemporary composers.

Weltethos is based on texts from six of the world’s largest religions: Confucianism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity.

Performed by City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the CBSO Chorus, Youth Chorus and Children’s Chorus and conducted by Edward Gardner.

The piece celebrates the common values between these different faiths and traditions, in a powerful manifesto for world peace.

This major new work is the latest masterpiece from Jonathan Harvey, born

Weltethos will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

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The Voyage 21 – 24 June 10pm An enormous ship sails into the centre of Victoria Square, Birmingham, docking itself beside the city’s Town Hall.

High above, dancers appear in the ship’s rigging and the voyage begins…

On 21 – 24 June, dancers and aerialists will join forces with a huge amateur choir, live musicians and over 140 local dance performers to transform Victoria Square.

Watch the action unfold onboard the ship and be caught up in the atmosphere on the ground, where seagulls swoop and travellers prepare to embark on their journey. As the ship sets sail, Birmingham’s Town Hall is transformed by spectacular film projections and the city’s skyline becomes a dream of undiscovered worlds.

Produced by Birmingham Hippodrome, this outdoor spectacle will be performed

by Motionhouse, one of the UK’s foremost dance theatre companies, and worldrenowned physical theatre company, Legs On The Wall from Australia. Original film projections by award winning Logela Multimedia.

Admission Free Location Victoria Square, Birmingham, B3 3AA Further information www.thevoyage.org.uk

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Heiner Goebbels: Walden

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23 June 7.30pm

Jubilee Concert with new work by James MacMillan

A choral piece written to celebrate Coventry Cathedral’s Golden Jubilee in 2012, James MacMillan’s Gloria is premiered by local children with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

To complement Gloria, Paul Leddington Wright conducts Benjamin Britten’s St Nicholas, which provides a further opportunity for the children’s choir to sing with a professional symphony orchestra in magnificent surroundings.

23 June 7pm & 9pm Commanding sell-out audiences but rarely heard in Birmingham - until 2012 - Heiner Goebbels is one of the world’s most sought after composers.

Goebbels’ Walden is an hourlong musical composition that is full of evocative sounds and features nine vibrant movements. The piece features a number of specially-built instruments such as the ‘steel cello’ and ‘bow chimes’ which resonate their sound through large sheets of steel.

In honour of the UK premiere of Walden, mac Birmingham will be brought to life during the day with new music theatre from Birmingham Conservatoire, outdoor folk sets on the Terrace, films in the cinema, visual work exhibited in the ‘allotment’ gallery spaces, talks and discussions in the Hexagon, writing workshops, and a ‘foraging menu’ in the café.

Walden is performed by Ensemble Klang, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and narrator/vocalist Keir Neuringer.

Admission Tickets £15 Location mac Birmingham, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH Further information www.heinergoebbelsfestival.org

Completing the programme is another Coventry Cathedral commission from 1980: War in Heaven, by Neil Cox, a dramatic work for the choir, organ and the brass instruments of the orchestra.

The concert is performed by City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, St Michael’s Singers, tenor Ian Bostridge and a choir of local school children and is conducted

by James MacMillan and Paul Leddington Wright.

Admission Tickets from £12 Location Coventry Cathedral, Priory Street, Coventry, CV1 5AB Further information www.coventrycathedral.org. uk/50

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London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay 30 June

London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay 1 July

Staffordshire, Black Country and Birmingham

Birmingham, Solihull, Redditch, Warwickshire, Coventry

8.30am The arrival of the Flame will start the Armed Forces Day celebrations at the National Memorial Arboretum.

Visit www.birminghamourgames.co.uk for details of events happening on and near the Torch route in Birmingham.

9am

In Lichfield there will be a day of sporting and cultural events including the Cathedral Dash, musical performances on Market Square, a national town crier competition and a Community Games.

10am

As the Flame visits Tamworth, a festival will take place in the scenic grounds of Tamworth Castle, with plenty of activities for all the family to take part in.

12.30pm Walsall will invite local people to try new sports, meet

local sports clubs and watch street entertainers during

its daylong event.

2.30pm

There will be sports demonstrations, live music and a troupe of line dancing Elvis Presley impersonators as the Flame passes through Wolverhampton. The Blue Peter Olympic Tour will also be at Wolverhampton’s West Park from 10am – 4pm.

4.30pm

The Flame will travel by open-air tram and a 100 year old steam powered canal boat when it reaches the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. Admission is by ticket only.

5.30pm As the Flame travels through Oldbury, West Bromwich

and Smethwick, the big event will be the Birmingham

& Sandwell Mela in Victoria Park, Smethwick.

6.30pm

The Flame will move into Birmingham, where Cannon Hill Park will play host to an extra special night of music. The event will be headlined by chart-topping boy band, The Wanted, and will include performances by Birmingham Royal Ballet, City of Birmingham Orchestra, Soweto Kinch, The Antics, Sampad South Asian Arts and StreetGames.

All tickets have now been allocated for this event.

Visit www.birminghamourgames.co.uk for details of events happening on and near the Torch route in Birmingham.

All times approximate to the nearest half hour.

Soweto Kinch

6am

The Flame will leave Birmingham early, after first visiting the Live Site at Victoria Square and being sent off by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham.

7.30am

A multi faith breakfast at Sparkhill Park will celebrate the richness of Birmingham’s culture through music, food and art. Irish Pipers will say Birmingham’s farewell to the Flame by Robin Hood Island at 7.30am.

9.30am

In Redditch there will be two special celebratory events to celebrate the arrival of the Flame, in Alcester Street in the Town Centre and at Astwood Bank Park.

2.30pm

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust will welcome the Flame to Henley Street, home of Shakespeare’s birthplace. Shakespeare’s words will herald its arrival in the shape of a project inspired by his words and the spirit of the Games, involving the people of the town and visitors to the Birthplace.

3.30pm

As the Flame travels through Warwick, Leamington Spa and Kenilworth there will be a series of family fun activities during the afternoon. Each event will end about an hour before the Torch arrives in each town to allow spectators time to find a suitable spot.

6pm

As the culmination of the annual Godiva Festival, Coventry will be welcoming the Olympic Flame to the city with an evening of theatre and music from local theatre company Talking Birds, as well as music from Morning Parade, at War Memorial Park.

There will be a packed programme of activities for all the family including your chance to see the Olympic Flame as it enters the city. This event is free and unticketed.

All times approximate to the nearest half hour.

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Rail Gaddi 30 June all day Punch, working in partnership with a wide range of schools, community groups and local businesses will be recreating one of the most successful dance crazes in recent time; the Rail Gaddi (or conga to the non-Desi’s).

Free Throughout Birmingham, near the Torch Relay route www.punch-records.co.uk

Lawk Naach 30 June 12 – 1pm Lawk Naach is a unique performance involving thousands of people, timed to coincide with Birmingham’s celebration of the Torch Relay on 30 June.

Desi Moves 30 June 3pm Schools from across Birmingham and the Black Country will join together to perform at Britain’s largest outdoor Asian cultural event; the Birmingham & Sandwell Mela.

Working with some of the UK’s leading dance teachers, specially devised dance routines including Bhangra, Bollywood and Gidda moves will be presented at Birmingham and the Black Country’s biggest party of 2012.

Free Birmingham & Sandwell Mela, Victoria Park, Smethwick, B66 3QL www.punch-records.co.uk

Over the last year Dance Sansaar has been working all over the West Midlands to involve around 24,000 people in learning Lawk Naach, a form of Punjabi folk dance that includes Bhangra, Jhumar, Luddi, Giddha, Julli, Daankara, Dhamal, Sammi, Kikli, and Gatka.

Over 2,000 of these people will come together on 30 June to take part in a specially choreographed dance routine and attempt to set a new World Record.

All ages are invited to take part – the youngest participant registered so far is only 3 years old, and the oldest is an outstanding 99 years old! All you have to do to get involved is register on Dance Sansaar’s website.

Free Birmingham & Sandwell Mela, Victoria Park, Smethwick, B66 3QL www.dancesansaar.com/London2012

Tall Tales from the Riverbank 30 June – 19 August A group of comics will embark on a narrow boat in a Comedy Relay from London to the Edinburgh Festival. During the journey, impromptu pop-up comedy gigs will be performed to crowds in various secret inland locations near London, Oxford, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and along the river bank from the roof of the boat.

Publicised by social media, the gigs and

activities on the boat will also be available through a dedicated website, and mobile and interactive digital platforms.

Tickets £5 Birmingham, secret location www.pleasance.co.uk

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Get Dancing

Poetry Parnassus Tour

1 July 2pm – 8pm

2 – 12 July

Poetry Parnassus is set to be the biggest poetry festival ever staged in the UK. 2 July 7.30pm Stratford-upon-Avon Poetry Festival, The Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, CV37 6QW Tickets £9 www.shakespeare.org.uk/visit-the-houses/ whats-on.html/poetry-parnassus 2 July 7pm Much Wenlock Pottery, Sheinton Street, Much Wenlock, Shropshire, TF13 6HT Tickets £10 www.wenlockpoetryfestival.org.uk

204 poets representing every Olympic nation will join the world’s most exciting rappers, spoken-word artists, dancers and musicians for a week-long programme of events at the Southbank Centre’s Festival of the World at the end of June.

Then in July, around 50 of these poets will head off on a tour of the UK, giving as many readers and audiences as possible the opportunity to hear international poets read and discuss their work. This will include events at the Stratford-upon-Avon Poetry Festival, Ledbury Poetry Festival and Ludlow Assembly Rooms.

6 & 7 July various times Ledbury Poetry Festival www.poetry-festival.com 12 July 7.30pm Ludlow Assembly Rooms, 1 Mill Street, Ludlow, Shropshire, SY8 1NU Tickets £8 www.ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk

Come and enjoy a day long dance festival, mixing live performance with a wide range of workshops, film and music in the scenic grounds of Stafford Castle.

Get Dancing celebrates Staffordshire’s first ever county-wide dance programme with performances by regional professional and community groups alongside Retina Dance Company and the Breathe the Beat roadshow (p. 16).

Whether you want to get up and dance, or relax with a picnic, there’s something for all the family.

Free Stafford Castle, Newport Road, Stafford, ST16 1DJ www.danceconnected.org.uk

The Sacred Truce Project 6 July Inspired by the Olympic Truce between the states of Ancient Greece prior to the original Olympic Games and the call for peace made by the United Nations in advance of each modern Olympiad, playwright Ursula Rani Sarma has created a new play that explores the theme of Truce.

The play is formed of five segments, with

five regions around the UK taking ownership of a segment each. Local directors will work with local community groups to inform the creation of their segment and the play as a whole.

The five sections will then come together to be performed in a West End Gala performance.

Ticket prices TBC Regent Theatre, 35-37 Piccadilly, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 1AP www.atgtickets.com

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Street Dancing for the Games 7 July 2012 7pm – 8.30pm Street Dancing for the Games brings participants from StreetGames’s three year StreetCheer project together for an exciting finale. StreetCheer’s dance coaches have choreographed a range of fun and high energy routines for the event, mixing street dance moves with cheerleading routines.

A showcase not to be missed.

Tickets £5 The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst Street, Southside, Birmingham, B5 4TB

We Dance

www.streetgames.org

13 & 14 July

Six Summer Saturdays 7, 14, 21 July & 11, 18, 25 August

Six Summer Saturdays kicks off on 7 July and continues across the summer in central Birmingham with a multitude of exciting sights and sounds.

Performances include a modern take on a Punch and Judy Show, a theatrical performance inside a pig’s belly, circus games, classic puppetry and stunning contemporary dance.

Physical theatre and unusual characters will bring the streets to life in front of your very eyes and you may even find yourself taking part in one of our playful interactive shows.

Free Various venues around Birmingham city centre, including Southside, Mailbox, Chamberlain Square, High Street www.sixsummersaturdays.com

We Dance is a two day festival of learning disabled dance led by Mencap.

Highlights will include a new London 2012 themed piece of dance by Freefall (Birmingham Royal Ballet and Fox Hollies’ popular learning disability dance company) and outdoor shows by internationally acclaimed dance company Stopgap.

There will be performances by local learning disabled community groups, an exhibition of dance for camera films and a number of fun workshops for people with a learning disability.

A few weeks later there will be another chance to see Freefall’s new dance piece performed, at Birmingham’s Live Site on 25 August (at 1pm and 3pm) and Coventry’s Live Site on 26 August (at 2pm and 4pm).

Admission to dance performances at 7pm both days is £5.

All other performances and workshops are free. mac Birmingham, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH www.artspider.org.uk

Devoted and Disgruntled Roadshow Improbable 13 July At a crucial time for theatre and the performing arts in the UK, the Devoted and Disgruntled Roadshow engages the theatre community – practitioners and audiences – in a nationwide conversation.

It aims to be both an investigation and celebration of the work already being done, and to facilitate new initiatives and relationships that together form a UK-wide network of creative collaboration.

Free.

New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 0JG www.devotedanddisgruntled.com

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Welcome Songs 11 July 8pm Admission Tickets £4 Location Wenlock Priory, 5 Sheinton Street, Much Wenlock, Shropshire, TF13 6HS Further information www.welcomesongs.co.uk Tickets available from Penny-Farthing Shop, 5 The Square, Much Wenlock, Shropshire, TF13 6LX or through the Dartington Hall Box Office, Tel: 01803 847070.

A new suite of Welcome Songs by leading folk musician Eliza Carthy will be performed at the picturesque Wenlock Priory in Much Wenlock.

The concert will be led by renowned choral director Robert Hollingworth and will feature Eliza, Robert and members of his internationally celebrated choir, I Fagiolini.

The performance is one of four around the country that celebrate the links of four

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Big Dance English towns to the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movement.

Eliza has used the traditional songs and stories from these towns - Much Wenlock, Chipping Campden, Stoke Mandeville and Weymouth as her inspiration for the new suite of songs.

Bring a picnic and a rug, then sit back and enjoy the evening’s entertainment.

7 – 15 July Big Dance 2012 is the UK’s biggest ever celebration of dance.

Taking place across the country, Big Dance will feature thousands of events inspired by dance.

They will take place in all sorts of locations, in all dance styles and will all be open to absolutely anyone.

Events will include classes, workshops, courses, performances, flashmobs, have-a-go days, film screenings, photography courses, competitions, world record attempts and dancing in unusual spaces, such as shops, parks, galleries, shopping centres.

Free Nationwide www.bigdance2012.com

Encompass 19 July 7pm 20 & 21 July 2pm & 7pm Encompass will use film, live performance and a digital installation to create a breathtaking show in a huge 360degree digital igloo, with local and international artists performing live and on-screen.

The performance will take the audience on a journey around the site, to include the Gaskell Field, which was the birthplace of the modern Olympic movement. Moving images of dancers from around the world will be projected, there will be live performances from local dance groups and interactive digital installations will be shown to get the audience dancing.

For the finale the audience will move into the igloo dome, where they will be surrounded by a 360-degree dance film and live performers.

Tickets from £3 The Edge Arts Centre, William Brookes School, Farley Road, Much Wenlock, Shropshire, TF13 6NB www.encompass360.co.uk

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Story Lab 14 July – 10 September Every year, thousands of families all over the UK are involved in the UK’s biggest reading event for children in libraries - the Summer Reading Challenge. This year the Story Lab challenge will reflect the spirit of 2012 with special events and activities taking place at public libraries across the West Midlands.

The aim of Story Lab is to get children to read six books during the summer - and not only will every child who takes part receive a membership card or pack and a certificate, but this year most libraries will be awarding medals just like at the real Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Free Public libraries across the West Midlands www.summerreadingchallenge.org.uk

The Olympic Reading Game with author Tom Palmer.

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Olympic Heroes with author Helena Pielichaty

Helena will relate some of her stories to sporting heroes past and present – a fun session for 5 – 12 year olds 2 August Rugby Library 10am – 12 Nuneaton Library 2 – 4pm 15 August Leamington Library 10am – 12pm Stratford Library 2 – 4pm Tickets are £2.50

Rosetta Life Festival 14 July 1.30 – 4.30pm

On 14 July Rosetta Life, a company of dancers, film makers, writers and performers who work with people living with long term illness, will be celebrating the voices of young people accessing hospices at this one day festival in Birmingham.

One of the highlights of the festival will be the chance to see a performance of Rosetta Life’s project with West Bromwich Albion Foundation, Acorns Children’s Hospice

Storytelling Relay Peter Chand

Local storyteller Peter Chand will be travelling through Staffordshire on a storytelling relay, telling stories about the flame and Olympic spirit in the libraries near the route of the Olympic Torch

and the Institute of Digital Arts and Technology (IDAT), that uses the moves of wheelchair football combined with motion capture technology and 3D modelling, to create an imaginary world with a fascinating story.

Free The Performance Hub University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus, Gorway Road, Walsall, WS1 3BD www.rosettalife.org

6 August Great Wyrley Library 10.30 – 11.30am Cannock Library 2 – 3pm 7 August Lichfield Library 10.30 – 11.30am Tamworth Library 2 – 3pm

Fun sessions combining sport and books for 5 –12 year olds.

8 August Burton-on-Trent Library 10.30am – 11.30am Shire Hall Library 2 – 3pm

31 July Polesworth Library 10am – 12pm Southam Library 2 – 4pm

9 August Clayton Library 10.30am –11.30am Blythe Bridge Library 2 – 3pm

10 August Bedworth Library 10am – 12pm Rugby Library 2 – 4pm Tickets are £2.50

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Ironbridge Gorge Brass Band Festival

14 & 15 July 10.30am – 6pm The Ironbridge Gorge Brass Band Festival is an open-air festival of high quality, free, live brass band music.

In 2012 the festival will celebrate the internationalism of London 2012 through its theme of ‘countries’ and will feature performances by

Porthywaen Silver Band, Black Country Brass and City of Wolverhampton Brass Band.

Free The Museum of Iron, Coalbrookdale, TF8 7DQ www.ironbridgebandfestival. co.uk

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(In)visible Dancing

Boyd & Evans: Views

25 – 28 July

18 July – 2 September Artist-couple Boyd & Evans have been working together since 1968. Their paintings, while highly representational, have a perspective, scale and composition that often edge closer to the surreal.

The air feels thin, time is frozen and gravity suspended in their dreamlike pictures.

Photography has also become more central to their work in recent years, with shocks of colour penetrating landscapes of the American Southwest. With selections from over 40 years of their work together, Ikon is proud to present Boyd & Evans’ first major survey exhibition.

Admission Free Location Ikon Gallery, 1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HS Further information 0121 248 0708 www.ikon-gallery.co.uk

Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir 23 July 2.30pm The Youth Choir will perform a new piece by Dobrinka Tabakova, as well as Fauré’s Requiem and Debussy’s Danse sacrée et danse profane with the Orchestra of the Swan conducted by David Hill.

The Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir is made up of 16 to 25 year olds from Herefordshire, Worcestershire & Gloucestershire.

Tickets from £5 Hereford Cathedral, 5 College Cloisters, Cathedral Close, Hereford, HR1 2NG www.3choirs.org

Three Choirs Festival Competitive Masterclass 23 July Masterclass 2–5pm Masterclass showcase 5.15pm Part of the Three Choirs Festival, this competitive masterclass invites aspiring musicians in their final year at music college to perform.

The 2012 masterclass is for period strings and is led by violinist Rachel Podger. Participants will be asked to perform unaccompanied Bach, with a showcase concert for the public at 5.15pm.

Tickets £5 Council Chamber, Hereford Town Hall, St Owen Street, Hereford, HR1 2PJ www.3choirs.org

A series of unusual dance performances will take place in Coventry city centre to celebrate the Olympic football matches happening within the city.

(In)visible Dancing will be a unique outdoor spectacle of dance expressions that reflect and celebrate the rich mix of Coventry’s street life. Dancers will take on different characters of the people who use the city centre every day – from shoppers and office workers, to builders and joggers.

(In)visible Dancing is choreographed by Luca Silvestrini, Artistic Director of Protein, and produced by International Dance Festival Birmingham.

Free Various locations around Coventry city centre

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Morling and the Hoard The Staffordshire Hoard: Kathering Morling’s Response 21 July – 1 September Explore a fascinating exhibition of work by leading British artist Katharine Morling that references the worldwide significance of the Staffordshire Hoard.

TooMortal 19 July 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 6pm & 7pm 20 July 6pm & 7pm 21 July 12pm, 1pm, 3pm & 4pm TooMortal is a new dance work created for churches by the internationally acclaimed contemporary dance company, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance.

Inspired by the dramatic architecture, Jeyasingh’s striking choreography contrasts and complements the rhythms and shapes of these historic buildings.

TooMortal offers surprising new perspectives, with the dancers travelling over the pews on a powerful and mesmerising journey.

TooMortal is presented in Worcester by Dance Umbrella and Dancefest.

Admission Free, but ticketed (to reserve a ticket please email: tickets@danceumbrella.co.uk or phone 020 7089 6280) Location St. Swithun’s Church, Church Street, Worcester, WR1 2RH Further information www.danceumbrella.co.uk www.shobanajeyasingh.co.uk

The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest and most impressive hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found, consisting of more than 1,500 beautifully crafted items.

The artefacts have been dated to the 7th or 8th centuries, placing the origin of the items in the time of the Kingdom of Mercia.

This specially commissioned exhibition will be at the core of a series of family-orientated workshops and activities that will focus on this glittering treasure, buried for over thirteen hundred years.

Admission Free, but ticketed Location The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 3DW Further information www.stokemuseums.org.uk

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Martin Creed’s All the Bells Work No.1197 All the bells in the country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes.

27 July 8am

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Admission Free

Friday 27 July 2012 will be no ordinary morning.

At 8am on the first day of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Work No.1197: All the bells in a country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes, by Turner Prize-winning artist and musician Martin Creed, will be performed throughout the UK.

Location Nationwide Further information www.allthebells.com

The nation is invited to ring thousands of bells at the same time, whether schools bells, church bells, town hall bells, bicycle bells or door bells.

An official ringtone, Work No. 1372, will shortly be available for download from the website.

Knit 2 Together 27 July – 30 September This summer artist Sara Fowles and Stitches and Hos will cover Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery’s columns with knitting to commemorate the stay of Jamaican and American athletes in Birmingham.

A palette of six colours will be used to create the installation – the same colours that make up both team’s national flags and which are the colours of the Olympic rings.

Martin Creed

There is a pop up shop in the Pavilions, where you can find out more about the project, with staff on hand to help you knit a few rows. There will also be a series of workshops and events – visit the website below for more information.

Free Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, B3 3DH Pavillions, Birmingham city centre, B4 7SL www.knit2together.tumblr.com

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Godiva Awakes 28 July The Awakening 9.15pm 29 July Dressing Godiva 12pm 29 July Godiva Carnival Event 12.30pm 30 July – 5 August The Journey 30 July Rugby 31 July Northampton 1 August Milton Keynes 2 August Luton 3 August Hatfield 4 August Waltham Abbey 5 August Waltham Forest 1-7 September Westminster Hall, London 9 September Thames Festival, London Event times to be confirmed

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Imagineer Productions’ 10 metre high Godiva will awake to a spectacular performance involving dancers, actors, musicians, fireworks, carnivalists and much more. Powered by 100 cyclists and clothed in a coat crafted by artists from across the West Midlands, Godiva will then journey from Coventry to London to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

On 28 July, Godiva will awake for the first time in 1,000 years in Coventry and through a once-in-alifetime performance will be presented with her quest to deliver the Book of Intent to

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London. The Book of Intent carries the voices of young people and their global partners to the world – it is the actions they will take to make the world a fairer place.

The following day, she will be the focal point of the Godiva Carnival in Coventry; a magnificent celebration for all the family where she will board her Cyclopedia for the first time. On 30 July, she will begin her epic journey travelling to London over seven days, passing through seven towns and inspiring a series of extraordinary outdoor celebrations.

Admission Free (tickets will be required for some events and are available from Belgrade Theatre box office) Location University Square & Broadgate, Coventry City Centre Further information www.imagineerproductions.co.uk www.belgrade.co.uk

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Stockhausen – a Festival of Light 19 – 21 August

Mittwoch aus Licht / Wednesday from Light An opera by Karlheinz Stockhausen 22 – 25 August From late afternoon (check website for details) ‘a significant landmark in the history of opera.’

BBC

‘Wednesday from Light easily ticks the once-in-alifetime criteria.’

The Guardian

Admission Ticketed (check website for details) Location Argyle Works, Great Barr Street, Birmingham B9 4EX Further information www.birminghamopera.org.uk

Featuring a Helicopter String Quartet, two choirs, solo instrumentalists, live electronic and acoustic music and a dancing camel, Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht/Wednesday from Light has never been performed anywhere in the world.

Until now.

performers will include Birmingham’s Ex Cathedra, London Voices, an array of virtuoso orchestral soloists, and local performers trained through Birmingham Opera Company’s awardwinning participation programme.

Internationally acclaimed opera director, Graham Vick, has assembled an outstanding artistic team to work alongside his unique Birmingham Opera Company on the piece.

Supported by Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council.

Under the musical direction of Stockhausen’s long-time collaborator, Kathinka Pasveer,

In response to Birmingham Opera Company’s premiere of Mittwoch aus Licht/ Wednesday from Light, the University of Birmingham, Birmingham Conservatoire and partners present a mini-festival of performances, talks and discussions on Stockhausen’s music.

The event provides a context for Stockhausen and his work for local, national and international audiences.

Tickets £65 (includes entrance to dress rehearsal on 21 August) Venues across Birmingham Please contact Nicola Saunders, at n.saunders@bham.ac.uk for more information.

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Last Weekend of the Games 7 – 9 September

Paralympic Flame Celebration 25 August The London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay will begin in London on 24 August with the lighting of England’s flame. There will be 34 evening celebrations called Flame Festivals across the UK on 25 August, including events in Coventry, Hereford and Staffordshire.

Coventry 25 August 2pm Coventry’s Paralympic Torch event will be a celebration of disability sport, art and culture, involving local schools, sports clubs and communities. People will be able to come and try Paralympic sports and to see live dance performances from local schools.

Free, non-ticketed event

Trentham Lake, Staffordshire 25 August, 11am Trentham Watersports Association.

Trentham Lake, Stoke-on-Trent

Cannock 25 August 12pm Free Chase Leisure Centre, Stafford Road, Cannock, WS11 2AL www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/chasegames

Hereford 25 August 12pm ThePoint4 Centre will host a ‘Have-a-Go’ afternoon for families and individuals, with demonstrations and the opportunity to try out various sports, including Blind Football at the home of the Great Britain team. At 4pm the event moves into celebration mode with music and live performances creating a family friendly party atmosphere on the Royal National College for the Blind’s main campus.

Free but ticketed (a small booking fee may apply).

Broadgate, Coventry, CV1 1NE

Royal National College for the Blind, College Road, Hereford, HR1 1EB

www.coventry.gov.uk/ paralympic-flame-celebration

thePoint4, Venns Lane, Hereford, HR1 1DT www.herefordshire.gov.uk/2012

A host of spectacular events will take place across the West Midlands to celebrate the final weekend of the Games and of the Cultural Olympiad, the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements.

The weekend will kick off in style in Birmingham on Friday night, with Birmingham’s first performance by Red Baraat (p. 55), a nine piece band that mix Bhangra with funk, go-go, latin, and jazz.

Then Mandala (p. 56), a spectacular outdoor performance, will mix South Asian dance and music with awe inspiring 3D projections on the side of Birmingham’s Town Hall.

On Saturday and Sunday, Artsfest, the UK’s biggest free arts festival will get into full swing, with some of the highlights including the Dance Marquee, this year programmed by Dancing for the Games (p. 59), and Bandstand Marathon (p. 58), which is bringing live music performance to bandstands and outdoor performance spaces across the UK on Sunday 9 September.

You could also decide to organise your own event for your friends, family and neighbours, either by organising your own Community Games (p. 6) or by signing up for the Local Leaders programme at www.london2012. com/join-in/local-leaders.

Red Baraat Tour 7 September 6.30pm Asian Arts Agency present the seriously hot, larger-than-life, Brooklyn based dhol ‘n’ brass band Red Baraat from New York City for their debut UK tour.

The nine piece band led by dhol drummer Sunny Jain consists of dhol, drums, percussion, a sousaphone and a five piece horn section. The band fuse the infectious North Indian rhythms of bhangra with funk, jazz, Latin and go-go and their sound is big, brassy and full of energy.

Dig out your dancing shoes and hot foot it down to this performance, you won’t regret it!

Free (unticketed) Town Hall, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B3 3AA www.asianartsagency.co.uk

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Using the latest digital technologies, Mandala will see Birmingham Town Hall spectacularly illuminated in colour and light and brought to life by 3D moving projections and breathtaking visual effects created by Seeper and Sampad.

Mandala 7 September 8.30pm & 9.30pm

The projections will capture the beautiful forms of South Asian dance and reflect live performances from leading acts including Devika Rao and Aakash Odedra, mixed in with specially recorded footage.

The accompanying soundtrack will sizzle with the contemporary energy of British Asian music and incorporate the music of world-class artists such as Anoushka Shankar, Zakir Hussain and Talvin Singh.

Admission Free Location Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, B3 3DH Further information www.sampad.org.uk

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Bandstand Marathon 9 September 1pm Bandstand Marathon will see events in bandstands and other open spaces happening across the UK. The event, organised by Superact, is now in its fifth year and celebrates local music talent. Taking place on 9 September, this will be the largest Bandstand Marathon to date, a truly national event linking local communities to London 2012.

Hosted in the many historic bandstands that adorn our local parks and town centres this festival has something for everyone: from Blues to Reggae, Bangra to Rock, Brass Bands to Steel Bands.

Free Victoria Square, New Street, Birmingham, B2 4BA Mary Stevens Park, Stanley Road, Dudley, DY8 2AA

Programme information

Brough Park, Park Road, Leek, Staffordshire, ST13 6HQ Baggeridge Country Park, Fir Street, Sedgley, Gospel End, Staffordshire, DY3 4HB Town Park Bandstand, Southwater Way, Telford, Shropshire, TF4 3NZ Visit www.bandstandmarathon.org.uk for details of more events.

Artists Taking the Lead Godiva Awakes is part of Artists taking the lead, a series of 12 public art commissions across the UK to celebrate the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad funded

by Arts Council England.

Stories of the World The Science of Sport is part of Stories of the World, which aims to showcase innovation and excellence in museums, libraries and archives to a worldwide audience. It welcomes the world to Britain by using our rich collections to tell inspirational stories about the UK’s relationships with the world.

The project is led by Arts Council England in partnership with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

TooMortal TooMortal is commissioned by Dance Umbrella (London), La Biennale di Venezia (Venice) and Dansens Hus (Stockholm)

within ENPARTS – European Network of Performing Arts, with the support of the European Commission.

Poetry Parnassus on Tour Poetry Parnassus on Tour is a Southbank Centre production in association with Speaking Volumes Live Literature Productions and funded by Arts Council England.

Dancing for the Games Since 2009 people across the West Midlands have been getting involved in dance to celebrate London 2012 through our Legacy Trust UK programme Dancing for the Games, with further support from Arts Council England. 29 projects have been commissioned as part of Dancing for the Games, and projects range from the creation of new work or the training of dance artists, through to providing participatory opportunities for thousands of people. 16 of the projects have performances or other

activities this summer which you can see or be a part of. www.dancingforthegames.co.uk - Breathe the Beat (p. 16) - Spill – a playground of dance (p. 18) - Desi Moves (p. 34) - GLOW Dance Festival 2012 (p. 24) - The Voyage (p. 28) - Moving Earth (p. 21) - Get Dancing (p. 36) - We Dance (p. 39) - Encompass (p. 41) - Mandala (p. 56) - Boys Dancing (p. 23) - Lawk Naach (p. 35)

About the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements. Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people. The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad is the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK, running from 21 June until 9 September 2012. For more details on the programme visit www.london2012.com/festival Arts Council England is proud to be a Principal Funder and supporter of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival.

The Arts Council champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries - from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections.

Legacy Trust UK is delighted to be a Principal Funder of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival and funds cultural, sporting and educational projects in communities across the UK that are inspired by London 2012. Legacy Trust UK supports a wide range of activities from street art to volunteering, music to animation, school sports to dance and digital art to festivals.

The Olympic Lottery Distributor is proud to be a Principal Funder of the Cultural Olympiad and is supporting a number of the major projects and events which will be part of the Cultural Olympiad and its culmination, the London 2012 Festival.

BP is delighted to be a Premier Partner of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Building on its 30 year support of the arts, BP is working with its arts partners, the Royal Opera House, British Museum, National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain, to help involve millions of people in the Cultural Olympiad and its finale, the London 2012 Festival.

BT is proud to be a Premier Partner of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and to be enabling millions of people to have a fantastic London 2012 experience through music and art events. BT River of Music welcomes the world to London with a once-in-a-lifetime weekend of free music at landmarks along the River Thames.

And the National Portrait Gallery/BT Road to 2012 project celebrates those who are collectively making the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games happen.

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To download this publication, or for the full list of Arts Council England publications, see www.artscouncil.org.uk Š Arts Council England, April 2012 Design: www.designbyz3.com

Premier Partners of the London 2012 Festival

Principal Funders of the London 2012 Festival