The Southbank Centre today launched a 12-week summer festival which aims to bring the whole world Thames-side.
From a Cuban dance show in the temporary Udderbelly tent to a sculpture of an African baobab tree, the Southbank is celebrating the Olympics with performers and artists from around 200 countries.
Jude Kelly, the centre’s artistic director, said: “Our festival champions the idea that art holds the key to unlocking the imagination and can be a powerful agent for social change.”
The events include Wastescape, a sculpture of plastic bottles at the Hayward Gallery to evoke a part of Medellin, Colombia, built on the city’s unofficial rubbish dump.
An exhibition in the Festival of the World Museum in the Royal Festival Hall will showcase the work of visionaries such as Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin and Maria Montessori.
Festival of the World runs from tomorrow until September 9. southbankcentre.co.uk
