This July and August the eyes of the world will be on Great Britain as London hosts the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In addition to the sporting events, there is the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad – the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements. The culmination of this is the London 2012 Festivalwhere music is an integral part. Music Sales has been working closely with some of the major partners in the Festival and is very proud that some of its composers are a key part of this, five of them being Martin Creed, Philip Glass,Ludovico Einaudi, Joel Cadbury and Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner.
Martin Creed’s Work No. 1197: All the bells in a country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes is an event which no one will forget! On the morning of the 27th July (the day the Games officially open), between 0800 and 0803 everyone is being encouraged to ring bells all across the country—from tower bells to sleigh bells, hand bells to bicycle bells. Bells are the loudest instrument there is, and to Creed these instruments and this work is the perfect way of celebrating a major event across the country where everyone has the chance to participate and share an experience. There will also be an exclusive bell ringtone created by Creed which can be downloaded and set to ring on the day. For further information and to signup, please visit www.allthebells.com
Another major event is Big Dance. On 18 May at 1pm—the day the Olympic Torch arrives in the UK—thousands of schoolchildren in the UK and across the world will join together to take part in a world-record breaking dance, created especially for them by Wayne McGregor with an original score by Scanner and Joel Cadbury. The Record Attempt is a worldwide warm-up for Big Dance 2012. With the support of the British Council, the dance will take place simultaneously in over 1,000 schools throughout the UK and across Europe, USA, South America, South-East Asia, the Middle East and the Far East. With downloadable packs available, all participants are rehearsing with the music now and the work will feature on television, in the streets, in theatres and schools and right into the heart of communities all over the country. The centrepiece of Big Dance will take place on 14 July in Trafalgar Square where over 1000 dancers will perform, with Joel Cadbury and Scanner making the music.
Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass receives its UK premiere on 4 May at London’s Barbican Centre. Widely credited as one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century, this rarely performed work launched its director Robert Wilson and Philip Glass to international success when it was first produced at the Metropolitan Opera in 1976. It is still recognised as one of their greatest masterpieces and now, nearly four decades after it was first performed and twenty years since its last production it finally premieres in the UK.
Ludovico Einaudi performs as part of the BT River of Music weekend of events. On 22 July he will be performing his music to the masses as he gives a free concert in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Finally, away from music, Esa-Pekka Salonen has been announced as one of the official Olympic Torchbearers. He will carry the Olympic flame for a mile in London on 26 July, the penultimate day of its 8,000 mile journey.
With the BBC and the world’s media committed to covering these events, the exposure offers a rare opportunity to showcase the creativity of these musicians around the globe.