That's what I love about what's going on for Open Weekend and the Cultural Olympiad. I've been looking at some of the highlights of the programme and it's such an amazing fusion of so many cultures to explore. There are so many cultures in this city; people never really have such a large-scale to explore them. We never take the time.
This weekend's a really, really nice way for people to find out about how other people express themselves. Tomorrow Akala and I are at the Southbank for our own Open Weekend event, Hip Hop Shakespeare. We'll be challenging people to think differently about hip hop music – and about Shakespeare. They've got far more in common than you might think.
Performing arts and sport are both ways to channel all the energy young people have, try something they never thought they'd have a go at. I think sport is a form of art – it's expression, it's movement. It's more contained than art – there are rules, guidelines. So in football, of course you can't handle the ball. But once you've got the ball at your feet you can express yourself as you go for goal.
I'd love to see something like Open Weekend become something that carries on after 2012 too. It's really good for young people - and adults - to be able to either do something themselves, or just see the fact that it's happening.
