For one day only, Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street, Lower Regent Street, Piccadilly and Waterloo Place became Piccadilly Circus Circus, a pop-up circus spectacular.
More than 240 circus artists from around the world, including jugglers, stilt acrobats, high wire trapeze artists and aerial dance performers performed on 12 specially created stages in central London.
The stage at Waterloo Place included a 13.5metre-tall circulate structure that hosted flying trapeze artists, while a 10m rigged goal post spanned Piccadilly, to support nine aerial artists.
Among the spectators were a host of roaming performers who also entertained the crowds as they travelled between the stages.
An aerial finale in Piccadilly Circus brought the event to a dramatic event at sunset, as the London skyline was transformed by artists from Les Studios de Cirque who soared above the audience on zip wires strung across Piccadilly Circus to present the UK premiere of their work, Place des Anges.
Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the London 2012 Festival said: 'The London 2012 Festival has commissioned events across the UK that showcase our world leading artists and much loved landscapes. Piccadilly Circus Circus will be a once-in-a-lifetime event that will make people look at this world renowned part of the Capital in a very different way.'
Find out more about the London 2012 Festival
