12 WEEK FESTIVAL OF WORLD-CLASS EVENTS ACROSS NORTHERN IRELAND

London 2012 and Arts Council of Northern Ireland today announced their complete London 2012 Festival programme for Northern Ireland, celebrating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will take place from 21 June – 9 September 2012 and features leading artists from home and around the world. The Northern Ireland programme is part of a UK-wide Festival that features more than 25,000 artists from all 204 competing Olympic nations with thousands of free tickets and opportunities to get involved.

Northern Ireland will host one of four major opening events for London 2012 Festival in the UK. The Peace One Day Concert on 21 June in Derry-Londonderry at Ebrington Square will feature Imelda May, Newton  Faulkner, Guillemots and The Wonder Villains, joining Peace One Day founder Jeremy Gilley with support from Peace One Day ambassador Jude Law.  Peace One Day is an organisation led by filmmaker Jeremy Gilley which, in 2001, drove a campaign that resulted in the unanimous adoption by UN member states of the first ever annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence. This day is now fixed in the global calendar every year: 21 September is Peace Day.Other new announcements include an outstanding line-up of some of the world’s best artists at the first ever Happy Days: Enniskillen International Beckett Festival from 24-27 August. Happy Days will feature the world premiere of The Beckett Songbook by musician and composer Gavin Bryars; Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s Steenbeckett installation; Godot Tree by one of the UK’s most renowned sculptors, Antony Gormley; and the previously announced iconic New York theatre director, Robert Wilson, directing and starring in Krapp’s Last Tape.  For tickets visit www.happy-days-enniskillen.com. Furthermore, Fiddle and Feet presented by the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention features a specially commissioned piece by Shetland islander, Chris Stout; the spectacular Norwegian dance ensemble, Frikar; and the best in Irish dance and music from Breandán de Gallaí to the West Kerry Set Dancers and Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin on 28th June at the Millennium Forum in Derry-Londonderry.

Actor, Fiona Shaw, was also in Derry-Londonderry on 23rd April launching Peace Camp, drawing attention to an exciting programme of art in unusual places. Peace Camp will present glowing encampments amidst a soundscape of love poetry at Whitepark Bay and Mussenden Temple at Downhill Strand from 19-22 July. People are now invited to nominate and record their favourite love poems and submit their own messages at www.peacecamp2012.com. Colombian artist Oscar Munoz will collaborate with Golden Thread Gallery and the Draw Down the Walls project in creating a special artwork in response to the Flax Street/Crumlin Road interface in North Belfast. Hans Peter Kuhn’s FLAGS will take place at the Giant’s Causeway from 20th August to 4th November. Visitors will see over a hundred flags, red on one side, yellow on the other, wave along the bay of Port Noffer in what will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.Tickets have also gone on sale for Northern Ireland’s largest ever outdoor arts event and are available through www.landofgiants.info. An epic show of gigantic proportions Land of Giants will present a spectacular experience involving music, projections and pyrotechnics involving acrobatics, aerial dance and a giant set on Titanic Slipways.

These events and more can be found on the London 2012 Festival website, www.london2012.com/festival, where people can sign up for further information. People can also follow London 2012 Festival at facebook.com/london2012festival and @london2012fest on Twitter.

Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival said: “'The London 2012 Festival programme in Northern Ireland is a very exciting one for us. It includes such a vast range of art forms at some of Northern Ireland's most iconic sites and supports some firsts in world events like the Happy Days - Enniskillen International Beckett Festival. Featuring some of Northern Ireland’s best local artists and bringing some of the best from around the world to audiences in Northern Ireland is exactly what we set out to achieve and we have done so by making almost two-thirds of the programme free to the public. I am looking forward to so many moments at our Festival in Northern Ireland and enjoying them with the thousands attending.'

Carál Ní Chuilín MLA, the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure said:"Ireland's outstanding cultural product is growing from strength to strength, and is rightly celebrated across the globe. Irish talent forms a key part of this impressive programme of arts events, which offers something for everyone. There have been many Cultural Olympiad highlights during the last four years. The final 12 weeks beginning with the Peace One day concert on the 21st of June presents us with many more opportunities to shine. "

Cian Smyth, London 2012 Creative Programmer, Arts Council of Northern Ireland said: “When we began the Cultural Olympiad in Northern Ireland in late 2008, it was difficult to imagine how we could scale the ambition of an Olympic challenge. Having presented over 67 inspiring community-based art projects attracting over 350,000 people across Northern Ireland in the last 3-4 years, it is with great excitement that our collaboration with a range of brilliant local and international artists and partners has resulted in such a special programme. The upcoming programme truly delivers a celebration of excellence in the arts as part of the London 2012 Festival this summer. I believe the public have a real artistic treat in store that will allow them to celebrate the Games and the world’s eyes on our shores.”

The London 2012 Festival is the finale of the Cultural Olympiad. Since the Cultural Olympiad started in 2008, over 18 million people all over the UK have already participated in or attended over 9,000 performances and more than 8,000 workshops as part of Cultural Olympiad programmes inspired by London 2012 and funded by the principal funders and sponsors. Premier partners of the London 2012 Festival across the UK are BP and BT.

Principal funders of the London 2012 Festival in Northern Ireland are the Olympic Lottery Distributor, Legacy Trust UK, and Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Supporters of the London 2012 Festival in Northern Ireland are the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Derry-Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

Supporters of the London 2012 Festival across the UK include BMW, Eurostar, Freshfields, Panasonic, Samsung, Arts Council of Wales, BBC, British Council, Creative Scotland, DCAL, DCMS, Festivals Edinburgh, Mayor Of London, Visit Britain and Visit Scotland. END

For further information and photos, please contact:Lyn Sheridan (07770 584157) or Paul McCarthy (07738 617062)Aiken PR, Tel: 0289066 3000

Notes to editors:

More events:The Screaming Silence of the Wind – Maurice Orr18 June – 3 August, Parliament Buildings, Stormont6-31 August, Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart

NI Opera Shorts – Conor Mitchell, Mark Ravenhill, Brian Irvine, Owen McCafferty, Christopher Norby, Frank McGuinness, Deirdre McKay, Stacey Gregg, Ed Bennett, Richard Dormer.28-30 June, the MAC, Belfast

MACROPOLIS – Joel Simon8 July, Live Sites in Belfast and Derry-Londonderry, and 25-29 August at QFT Belfast.

NEST – Brian Irvine and John McIlduff21-29 July, T13, Belfast

All the Bells – Martin Creed27th July, Everywhere

Noye’s Fludde – NI Opera10-12 August and 17-19 August, Belfast Zoo

CAUTION – Sinead O’Donnell with Sylvette Babin (Canada), Paul Couillard (Canada), Mariel Carranza (USA/Peru), Shiro Masuyama (Japan) and Poshya Kakl (Kurdistan/Iraq)24 August – 29 September, Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

Further UK-wide events include:Big DanceWorld Shakespeare FestivalBandstand MarathonA Hansel of Film (with Belfast Film Festival)London 2012 Festival films (at Queens Film Theatre)

London 2012 Festival and Northern IrelandThe Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is responsible for coordinating delivery of the Northern Ireland legacy strategy for the 2012 Games, across three key themes – sport, social, and economic.

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is responsible for coordinating delivery of the Northern Ireland legacy for culture, contributing to the social legacy of the London 2012 Games for Northern Ireland. It hosts the office of the London 2012 Creative Programmer for Northern Ireland and leads on the Cultural Olympiad and its finale, the London 2012 Festival, in Northern Ireland.

London 2012 Festival in Northern Ireland is proud to partner with Derry-Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s ni2012 campaign celebrating Northern Ireland in 2012 and developing legacy for the UK's first ever City of Culture in 2013.

About the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 FestivalThe 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.The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad will be the London 2012 Festival, bringing leading artists from all over the world together from 21 June 2012 in this UK-wide festival – a chance for everyone to celebrate London 2012 through dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, fashion, film and digital innovation.Principal funders of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival in Northern Ireland  are Arts Council of Northern Ireland,  Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor.  BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival.For more details visit www.london2012.com/festivalLegacy Trust UK and Northern IrelandLegacy Trust UK is an independent charity which is creating a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games across the UK.

The Trust is a Principal Funder of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival and is supporting a wide range of sporting and cultural projects across Northern Ireland which are part of these official London 2012 celebrations. Legacy Trust UK has allocated over £2 million to London 2012-inspired projects in Northern Ireland since 2008 through Land of Giants and Connections, which brings together sports and the arts through a range of NI-wide projects.