Celebrations across England to mark Olympic handover
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is more than just four weeks of sport, it is as the founder of the modern Olympic movement once said,’ a wedding of sport and art’.
To celebrate this event a number of celebrations are taking place across the country, see below for more details. You can also find out more about Chinese culture in England in our guide to England's Chinatowns.
Celebrations to mark the handover
On Sunday 24 August, as part of the official closing ceremony at the Bejing Olympics, the Mayor of Bejing will hand the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London. To mark this towns, cities and communities are planning their own celebrations with a series of events and initiatives happening across all nations and regions.
This includes a network of big screens in every nation and region of England, showing live coverage of the Closing Ceremony and the concert in London. Find out more about the official handover!
The Launch of the Cultural Olympiad
The weekend of the 26-28 September kicks off a four year celebration of culture, designed to enable the widest range of people across the UK to take part. It will also launch a number of large-scale creative projects. But this will be just the beginning, we are asking organisations and individuals to consider how they might be part of the weekend and over the coming four years.
East Midlands
Mini Greek Games - The Collection Museum
28 September 2008
Storytelling for Under 5s. Discover amazing stories from around the world through music and museum objects, then let your imagination run wild through free play.
Find out more about Mini Greek Games
Heart of England
Staffordshire Open Studios
27-28 September 2008
Staffordshire Open Studios is a free event over two weekends when selected professional and semi-professional artists across the county open up their normally private studios to the public to showcase the wealth of creative talent in Staffordshire. For a free guide email: deb@walkerart.freeserve.co.uk or call: 01889 504102
Find out more about Staffordshire Open Studios
East of England
The Little Red Flowers
27 September 2008
Charter Hall in Colchester plays host to 18 talented youngsters who shall take your breath away! The Little Red Flowers have been brought to Essex as part of Essex County Council’s Essex-Jiangsu Festival. Charter Hall is proud to be part of the celebrations of a 20-year relationship with Jiangsu Province in China.
Find out more about The Little Red Flowers
London
Youth music
26-27 September 2008
Barbican (26/09) / Artsdepot (27/09) / Southbank centre (27/09)
Specially commissioned music and song to be performed by wide range of young people from across the UK for Open Weekend.
Free ballet classes for adults with the English National Ballet
28 September 2008
English National Ballet holds an open day at its Kensington headquarters, Markova House, with Introduction to ballet workshops and open ballet classes.
Find out more about the English National Ballet
North East
AfroLata from the Favelas to the North East
28 September 2008
A celebration event; drumming singing dancing and loud! Dance City will be jumping with members of AfroReggae from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) working alongside community groups from across the North East to bang out some rhythm, celebrate sunshine and enjoy the beats! Come along and join in the fun!
Find out more about Dance City
North West
BBC Open Days
27-28 September
The BBC is opening its doors to give the public a fascinating insight into the world of broadcasting. Tickets need to be booked in advance by visiting www.bbc.co.uk/openweekend or by calling 03709011227.
South East
The Gloriumptious Games at The Roald Dahl, Museum and Story Centre
27 September 2008
If Roald Dahl had created the Olympics what would the events be? One-legged humming competitions? Meccano chariot races? Join storyteller Sudha Mooney to create some tall tales of crodswoggling contests to celebrate the launch of the Cultural Olympiad and discover more about Roald Dahl’s own sporting triumphs and disasters.
Find out more about The Gloriumptious Games
Yorkshire
‘Arthur Wharton’ the first black professional football player
26 September 2008
The entertaining storyteller Alec Williams, utilising a Doncaster Schools Museums project loan, explores the life of Arthur Wharton, whose fascinating career as an accomplished sportsman and professional footballer and his work at Edlington Pit before his retirement brings local history to life for local school children.
Find out more about Arthur Wharton