London 2012 blog

I am very excited by the fact that Open Rehearsal will be one of the core projects in London for the launch weekend of the Cultural Olympiad on 26th - 28th September. Open Rehearsal is a pan-London project that aims to engage audiences with culture by offering them a whole range of 'behind the scenes' activities. Over these three days, arts venues all over city will open their doors for a packed programme of rehearsals, backstage tours, workshops, master classes, talks and debates.

Because Open Rehearsal aims to open doors, engage audiences, encourage participation and learning as well as promote London’s phenomenal cultural offer and resources I believe it is a great fit with the aspirations for the Cultural Olympiad programme as it encourages and inspires people to open themselves up to new experiences, be it the organisations or the audiences.

Open Rehearsal is run as a joint initiative between Greater London Authority and Visit London and was conceived on the basis that culture is and should be for everyone. There are barriers to this as the notion of culture can sometimes seem out of reach to many. It has developed successfully because we continue to add new initiatives, work with new partners and broaden the scope of activities to help break down these perceived barriers.

We have seen over one hundred arts organisations participate in Open Rehearsal over the last four years. Previous projects under the scheme have included ballet classes with English National Ballet, backstage tours, DJ workshops, open rehearsals with all of London's major orchestras and creative writing with the Royal Court. This year, with the help of the Cultural Olympiad, we want the project to involve even wider audience by offering a huge variety of participative and non-participative projects and we will continue to support partners by profile raising and networking. 

With the impetus of the Cultural Olympiad, this year’s Open Rehearsal will be the biggest ever, and the biggest challenge, as we have thrown the net far wider than ever before. By embracing gallery and heritage, film and fashion, I really hope that by being part of the Cultural Olympiad launch Open Rehearsal can inspire participants and audiences and demonstrate that London’s cultural and creative sector is open for everyone.

I’m very keen to involve cultural organisations across the whole spectrum this year. If you would like more details either e-mail us at openrehearsal@london.gov.uk or go to Open Rehearshal

Get more information on the Cultural Olympiad and how to get involved