Bells ringing out for Creed's mass start to the Olympics

Martin Creed has been shortlisted to create an Olympic-themed work of art with his plan to mark the start of the Games with a mass bell-ringing session.

The "Big Ring" would involve thousands of Londoners and feature a new Olympic bell made in the Whitechapel foundry which produced Big Ben.

Creed's idea is among five proposals shortlisted for a £500,000 prize to create a 2012-themed artwork for the capital.

The Arts Council-funded £5.4million Artists Taking The Lead contest will choose a work for nine British regions.

Creed won the Turner Prize in 2001 for The Lights Going On and Off, an empty gallery with a pair of flashing lights.

Anglo-Indian musician and composer Nitin Sawhney proposes to record famous musicians playing in their bedrooms and combine the recordings with a live open-air performance.

Theatrical director Simon Elliott and furniture designer Auro Foxcroft propose to project interpretations of athletes onto landmark London buildings.

Other proposals include converting the tops of bus shelters into electronic panels to tell stories and setting up pop-up theatres on 12 London Underground carriages.

The London contenders will present their ideas to a panel next month before the final decision in October. Lord Coe, chairman of the 2012 organising committee, said: "I'm thrilled with the calibre of this shortlist. We want the Cultural Olympiad to bring art and sport together."