Culture and 2012 legacy

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games provided a unique opportunity to showcase London's unrivaled arts and culture to the world. The Mayor of London presented and supported the most exciting, ambitious cultural festival the city has ever seen.

Alongside the London 2012 Festival, we signalled to the world that London is a cultural powerhouse with over 5,000 free cultural events stretching across all parts of London (all 33 boroughs) and across all genres – Music, Dance, Visual Arts, Theatre and Fashion for both Londoners and visitors alike to enjoy including:

• 31% of Londoners said that they attended more cultural events in summer 2012 than summer 2011.
• over 80,000 people bounced on Jeremy Deller’s inflatable Stonehenge - Sacrilege
• Elizabeth Streb's daredevil dancers attracted international media value of over £1 million.
• over 400 Showtime performers reached over half a million Londoners
• Big Dance is the world’s largest and most influential dance initiative reaching 1.8 million people in the capital
• over 20,000 Londoners and visitors got 'Shakespeared' by Olivier Award winning actor, Mark Rylance's troupe
• 500 x 11–25 year olds performing 2,000 hours of live music around London in the Mayor's annual busking competition - Gigs
• around 30,000 experienced a Secrets event including ex-Monty Python Terry Jones operatic spectacle The Owl and the Pussycat along London’s canals
• aerial performances and 1.5 tons of feathers were released during a day of circus at Piccadilly Circus