Sacrilege, the life-sized inflatable replica of Stonehenge by the Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller is to appear in Victoria Park on Wednesday 8 August as part of BT London Live.
Offering visitors a unique opportunity to walk, bounce and play on the gigantic historical monument, it is truly an experience not to be missed whatever your age.
Sacrilege has proven enormously popular since it first appeared in London, attracting thousands of people at locations around the capital, as part of the Mayor of London's programme of free cultural events and attractions to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Its appearance in Victoria Park, perfect for summer holidays, will add to the other BT London Live attractions, which also include giant state of the art screens showing all of the Olympic sporting action live, live bands, the zipwire, zorbing and an observation wheel, giving views across the Olympic Park. BT London Live Victoria Park is free to enter and people can just turn up. It is open 11am-9pm.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: 'You don't have to be a specialist in ancient British history or an acolyte of the summer solstice ritual to be aware of the unending fascination that Stonehenge continues to inspire around the world. 'Jeremy Deller's Sacrilege is a wonderfully witty, quite literal leap into that history and a fantastic example of the irreverence that are hallmarks of our great British humour and our incomparable artists.' Not only it is a piece of art but a free and fun attraction, which I have no doubt will be a great hit with people visiting Victoria Park Live Site especially families seeking out summer holiday entertainment.'
BT London Live Victoria Park is also hosting Showtime performers from the 8th 12th August, as well as providing a stage from young and emerging performers competing in the Mayor's Gigs: Big Busk competition.
Showtime, presented by the Mayor of London with the London 2012 Festival, brings fantastic free outdoor performances to high streets, parks and open spaces across London. In Victoria Park it includes Catalonian troupe Osadia, who create magical hair sculptures, as well as lively street theatre and performance from Bureau of Silly Ideas; Upswing; Close Act; Creature Feature; Kazzum Baroque Production; Dot Comedy; Icarus Roo'd; The Strangelings; and Culture Mix Arts.The public is being asked to vote for the young performers competing in Gigs: Big Busk, which has been running since 2009 in partnership with Transport for London and helped launch the careers of Jamie West, Robbie Boyd, The Lorelles and other performers. This year it has attracted entries from over 1,000 young Londoners aged 11 to 25 with acts spanning musical styles. More than 200 entrants are playing the circuit of 35 Gigs busking pitches at iconic spaces around London until 25 August, including BT London Live Victoria Park until 10 August.
For more information go to
www.molpresents.com www.btlondonlive.com www.sacrilege2012.co.uk
Sacrilege tour dates (subject to change) Wednesday 8 August Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, London Tuesday 7 August East Ham Central Park, Newham, London Thursday 9 August Crystal Palace, Bromley, London Friday 10 August Alexandra Palace, Haringey, London Saturday 11 August Christchurch Green, Redbridge, London Sunday 12 August The Waterworks Nature Reserve, Lee Valley Park, Enfield, London
Notes to editors
1. The Mayor of London is backing a huge programme of free events and cultural activities to add to the excitement of 2012. Working with outstanding international artists and world-class cultural organisations this unprecedented Mayor of London Presents programme is taking place in every corner of the capital to add to and complement the London 2012 Festival. It includes Secrets: Hidden London, with artists and performers transforming hidden and lesser known locations; Showtime, the largest outdoor arts festival ever seen in the capital, with dozens of electrifying artists from the UK and abroad coming to every borough, in high streets, parks and town centres; BT London Live, bringing live action from the Games, as well as sporting activities and entertainment to Hyde Park, Victoria Park and Trafalgar Square; and Surprises bringing pop-up performances, such as Sacrilege, and once in a lifetime experiences to locations familiar and unusual, above your heads and atop landmark buildings. To be the first to know what's happening in this Summer Like No Other, sign up or follow us at www.molpresents.com / www.facebook.com/mayoroflondonpresents / www.twitter.com/molpresents . The live televised coverage of Olympic sports is provided by the BBC.
2. 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 will be the London 2012 Festival, the spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK, from Midsummer's Day on 21 June and running until the final day of the Paralympic Games on 9 September 2012.The London 2012 Festival will celebrate the huge range, quality and accessibility of the UKs world-class culture including dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, fashion, film and digital innovation, giving the opportunity for people across the UK to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Principal funders of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival are Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor. BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival. For more details on the programme, to download the London 2012 Festival official guide and to sign up for information visit www.london2012.com/festival.
3. Arts Council England is proud to work in partnership with London 2012, and is a principal funder of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival. The Arts Council champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich peoples lives. It supports 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. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2011 and 2015, it will invest £1.4 billion of public money from government and an estimated £1 billion from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk.
4. Taking place every other year, and combining some of the characteristics of a conventional arts biennial with a more event-based experience, Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art is a unique event in the international calendar with one of the most groundbreaking and dynamic presentations of contemporary visual arts practice. GI is a unique event that offers both globally recognised and emerging Glasgow-based artists across the spectrum of the citys art scene a platform to show new work to both national and international audiences while also introducing the work of important international artists. Since its inception in 2005 the Festival has brought together the key organisations in Glasgows diverse artistic community, presenting unique events and special commissions rooted in the achievements of the local artistic community, while drawing on important international developments in contemporary art.