Open Weekend starts the two years to go countdown to the London 2012 Games Today triple jump champion, Jonathan Edwards CBE, faced 19 year old British table tennis pro, Darius Knight, at Tate Modern in the most challenging ping pong match ever, to launch the start of London 2012 Open Weekend, 23rd-25th July, 2010. Photos from the launch can be downloaded from this link: http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr139350854 With the fresh theme of ‘challenge yourself’, the Passport to Pingland table-tennis event is one of more than 900 events taking place across the UK as part of the Cultural Olympiad initiative, where organisations have set public challenges at each of their events, creating an opportunity for everyone across the UK to set a new personal best by trying something new or taking an existing interest to the next level. The London 2012 Open Weekend supported by BP will give people access to a range of exciting opportunities including Passport to Pingland table tennis events in London, building your own boat in Wales; bringing a giant kettle to boil via music in Milton Keynes, bicycle ballet in Manchester; running a leg in a 3k relay race in Walsall; making your own stone sundial in Souter and talent contests in Norfolk. Full listings can be found at http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/open-weekend/. With the support of BP, Premier Partner of the Cultural Olympiad and long-standing supporter of arts and culture in the UK, Open Weekend will take place every year until the start of the London 2012 Games. London 2012 Chair Sebastian Coe said: ‘Open Weekend will lead the nation into the two year countdown to the start of the London 2012 Games with new personal bests being set right across the UK. ‘Open Weekend 2010 is another opportunity for thousands of people to join in with the London 2012 Games.’ Now in its third year, London 2012 Open Weekend follows the success of the past two previous years, in which over a million people across the UK unleashed their creativity across a series of sporting, art and cultural activities. Minister for Culture, Ed Vaizey said: ’Through Open Weekend 2010 the Cultural Olympiad is bringing the inspirational power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to life in communities across the UK. Open Weekend gives people the chance to challenge themselves and their friends and neighbours to achieve new and unusual personal firsts and bests in music, dance, performance and sport. ‘With only two years to go until the 2012 Games the range of exciting events taking place across towns, cities and villages this weekend shows that the Games is an event that people across the country can enjoy and be part of .’ The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: 'With only two years to go to the biggest sport and cultural spectacle in the world, the excitement is building in London and around the UK. ‘Open Weekend is about everyone enjoying the spirit of London 2012 by taking part in an eclectic and challenging variety of activities up and down the country. Whether it's whiff-whaff or bicycle-ballet, I hope people will feel inspired to get involved.' Peter Mather, Regional Vice President, Europe, & Head of Country, UK, BP said: ‘BP is delighted to support Open Weekend again in 2010. We’ve been working closely with LOCOG to build on last year’s success and look forward to seeing hundreds of excellent events across the UK, all inspired by London 2012.’ Photos of sport stars taking up Open Weekend cultural challenges can be downloaded from this link: http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr138016631 Highlight challenges for Open Weekend 2010 include: · Passport to Pingland - London is the first event of Ping! - a pan-London ping pong project funded by Sport England and delivered in partnership with the English Table Tennis Association. Complete one table tennis challenge to earn a stamp in your passport. 3 stamps (in different locations across London – see below for more details) entitle you to Pinglish Citizenship and wins you a free top quality bat. Passports can be collected at participating sites. Locations across London including, Hoxton Square, Geffrye Museum, Gillette Square, Victoria Embankment Gardens, Soho Square, Natural History Museum, Brusnwick Shopping Centre, British Library Courtyard, St Pancras International, Bermondsey Square, Tate Modern, O2. · Coracle and Castles – Wales; build a coracle - a small lightweight boat at Cilgerran Castle. · Sport Caerphilly's Big Cheese Taster Sessions – Mid Glamorgan; Each taster sport session has a specific challenge attached. · Brewing Up - Bringing the Kettle to the Boil – Milton Keynes; part of IF: Milton Keynes International Festival 2010, get involved in finding out how many people it takes to play music to bring a giant carnival kettle to the boil. This project is part of the London 2012 Inspire programme. · Big Choir Day – Brighton; Unleash your inner singer and join the John Hancorn and the Brighton Festival Chorus to rehearse and perform in the historic Brighton Dome Concert Hall. · Intro to Stonemasonary – Souter, North East England; learn the craft and make your own stone sundial with the North England Civic Trust in Souter. · Sports on Wheels – Newcastle Upon Tyne; Wheelchair Basketball, Powerchair Football and Wheelchair Rugby taster challenges. · Sampad Arts Mela – Birmingham; learn a dance routine and perform it in one hour · Walsall Arboretum Relays – Walsall; take part in a 3k relay race through the park. · Two2Go – Hackney, London; Celebrate the two year countdown to the 2012 Games and get active by trying a new sport or dance at this community festival on Hackney Marshes. · Write Here, Write Now; Script Laboratory – Camden, London; write a play in an hour and improve a writer’s latest play at the Hampstead Theatre. · Run the Square and Hetherset’s Got Talent – Norfolk; fun run and talent contest in Hetherset, Norfolk. · Outdoor Festival of Chinese Culture – Cambridge; Chinese art and calligraphy challenge at the Fitzwilliam Museum. · Step Up Bradford - Bradford; join in the city’s dance extravaganza. · Sheffield TRY-athlon – Sheffield; learn circus skills, including juggling, tightrope walking and hoola hooping. · SURGE a festival of physical performance – Glasgow; street art, physical theatre and circus challenges abound as the streets come alive. · Human Race – Edinburgh; discover the latest research in sport bioinformatics and sports medicine, take part in experiments and try out cutting edge technology such as speckle computing, a bionic hand and robots. This project is part of the London 2012 Inspire programme. · Bicycle Ballet – Manchester; Make your bike dance! Learn bicycle stunts and perform tricks to music. 80 cyclists are sought to train with the professionals for this exciting performance. · Frank Webb Fun Day – Crewe; take part in a multi-sport competition and try new activities. · Cornwall 2,012 second activity challenge – across the county; Get active by going to your local participating leisure centre for a minimum of 2,012 seconds or 34 minutes. · Roman Baths challenge - Bath; build a Roman arch, measure the Great Bath using Roman measurements and match the Latin names of countries to our map of the Roman world. · Pride and Prejudice – County Down; read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice before enjoying a performance at Solitude Park, Banbridge. · ‘Try it’ sports event – Belfast; young people invited to sample over 15 sports from fencing to volleyball at the Ozone complex. · SO Festival – Skegness; a colourful carnival of dance, visual art, street theatre, world class performances, music and more. · Discovering the Dale – Derbyshire; an invitation to contribute to an instant art exhibition inspired by the wildlife and landscapes of Lathkilldale to represent the landscape and wildlife of the area through art. Part of Discovering Places Launch Weekend. Discovering Places is the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad campaign to inspire communities across the UK to discover their local environment – with all its hidden places, extraordinary spaces and the stories they have to tell. Many Discovering Places events will take place over the London 2012 Open Weekend, and highlight events include: · Rutland’s Treasure Trail - East Midlands: Come and explore England’s smallest county. With 7 driving trails to follow, each one packed with hidden history and beautiful landscapes. There’s a story around every corner. · Clean and Recycle, Holkham Beach - East of England: A major beach clean up and art event that will not only result in a cleaner environment, but under the guidance of artist Karen Whiterod will help to create lasting artwork to raise awareness of litter hazards for visitors of the future. · Strange Discoveries in Brompton Cemetery - London: Brompton Cemetery is a too little known jewel in the middle of London. This Grade I Listed site is the most central of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries created in the countryside outside London between 1830 - 1841.Visitors will be invited to accept the challenge of completing a Quiz which will provide entertaining clues about the identity and history of selected characters. · Kielder Osprey Watch - North East of England: After successfully nesting last year for the first time in Northumberland in 200 years, the Kielder ospreys are back and the public will now have the chance to see these remarkable birds via high powered telescopes and volunteer experts. · Minibeast Triathlon - North West of England: Enter your Olympic team and join the countryside rangers in snail racing, worm charming and woodlouse hurdles. Join in the fun with Olympic opening and medal ceremony, and learn about how to conserve the minibeast's habitats. · Rediscover Dunville Fountain - Northern Ireland: A series of clay workshops led by ceramic artist, Eleanor Wheeler, using the beautiful details found on the fountain for inspiration. Children will have their clay panels taken away and fired, so they can be displayed. · Music Hall Memories – Scotland: The World's oldest surviving music hall, Britannia Panopticon Music Hall, where Stan Laurel made his debut invites you to join us for a show crammed with songs, music, magic, dance, comedy sketches, novelties and sing-a-longs. Fun for all ages! · Field of flags – Dysarticulate, University of Portsmouth - South East of England: The audacious aim of "Dysarticulate" is to create tens of thousands of recycled flags to be made and placed where they wish by anyone who dares to join in over Open Weekend, to create a unique new temporary public artwork all over England. · Mini Bio-Blitz - Bristol: The first ever Mini Bio-Blitz. Join local scientists and naturalist in a race against the clock to find 100 different species on Brandon Hill. Spot, photograph, classify and identify as many species as you can! Mandeville the London 2012 Paralympic mascot will also be making an appearance at this event. · Cauldrons and Furnaces – Wales: An afternoon of arts, stories and music led by local school children which invites visitors and local people to get to know more about Flint castle and their heritage · Walking As One – Birmingham: Walking As One, Rhubarb-Rhubarb, be a part of the incredible image made by Hungarian artist Adam Magyar and come and join in with a Walk for the Camera. Then come back and find yourself on the large scale image installation on the hoarding around of one of Europe's most significant cultural buildings, the New Library of Birmingham · Life at No.57: The Sheffield Terraced House Dig - Sheffield: The Sheffield Heeley City Farm and Sheffield University are giving everyone an opportunity to come and meet the archaeologists, share the excitement of archaeological discovery first hand and find out what is underneath our Goat Field on Alexandra Road.
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For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or contact Helena Wiltshire 07889 631 365/0203 047 4010 and Paul McEntee 07791 156 326/0203 047 4078 at JCPR (Edelman). Or visit the website at www.london2012.com. Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://blog.london2012.com or follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/london2012 Notes to editors: About Passport to Pingland Passport to Pingland is the first event of Ping! a pan-London ping pong project funded by Sport England and delivered in partnership with the English Table Tennis Association. Complete one table tennis challenge to earn a stamp in your passport. 3 stamps (in different locations) entitle you to Pinglish Citizenship and wins you a free top quality bat. Passports can be collected at participating sites. Locations are: · Hoxton Square · Geffrrye Museum · Gillette Square Ping in the West · Victoria Embankment Gardens · Golden Square · Soho Square Ping in the North · Brusnwick Shopping Centre · British Library Courtyard · St Pancras STation tables Ping in the South · Bermondsey Square · Tate Modern · O2 Passport to Pingland supports the London 2012 Open Weekend and is produced by Create10 with Sing London. Passport to Pingland is part of PIng!; the street ping pong event which sees 100 tables installed across London for a month. About BP and its cultural support in the UK BP has supported arts and culture in the UK for over 30 years and currently focuses its support on long-term partnerships with four world class institutions; The British Museum, The National Portrait Gallery, The Royal Opera House and Tate Britain. More than 1.5 million people across the UK attended a BP supported event in 2009. With its support of Open Weekend and the Cultural Olympiad, BP is helping to showcase the UK’s cultural excellence and diversity to an even wider audience. London 2012 Cultural Olympiad 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. Millions of people around the UK are already part of the Cultural Olympiad, through the Inspire programme and Open Weekend. The finale of the Cultural Olympiad will be in a twelve week UK-wide Festival in the summer of 2012, bringing together leading artists from all over the world. The Cultural Olympiad has benefited from a National Lottery grant of £15.6 million from the Olympic Lottery Distributor. Other funders include Legacy Trust UK and Arts Council England. British Council will commit £3million to the international development of London 2012 Cultural Olympiad projects. BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad. Panasonic are the presenting partner of Film Nation: Shorts. For more details visit www.london2012.com/culture Discovering Places Discovering Places is London 2012’s campaign to inspire communities across the UK to discover their local environment – with all its hidden places, extraordinary spaces and the stories they have to tell. Through amazing events, interactive programmes and engaging education projects, Discovering Places will use the power of the Games to inspire communities across the UK to celebrate and discover the natural, built and historic environments on their doorstep and beyond. Discovering Places is principally funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor and delivered in partnership between Heritage Link and London 2012. London 2012 Inspire programme The Inspire programme is run by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is an opportunity for everyone to be a part of the London 2012 Games – a broad participation programme spanning sport participation, education, sustainability, volunteering, and business opportunities & skills. New opportunities are being created to inspire young people and encourage the whole of the UK to join in. LOCOG As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now nineteen domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, GSK, Gymnova, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, Next, The Nielsen Company, Populous, Technogym, Ticketmaster and Trident. There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games Partner, Sainsbury’s. The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos Origin, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Visa. |
