The Barbican, Create London and the London Legacy Development Corporation have today announced ticketing details and the line-up for Open East Festival – a weekend of music food, theatre, family fun and much more taking place in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 27 and 28 July 2013 to mark the first anniversary of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The north area of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will open up to thousands of people for a packed weekend of entertainment and activity, art and food, programmed by the Barbican and Create London.
Ticket holders will discover a host of international acts on the main music stage, featuring Toots and the Maytals, The Waterboys, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 and a supergroup of Malian artists including celebrated duo Amadou and Mariam, Vieux Farka Touré and Fatoumata Diawara assembled by Cheick Tidian Seck. Meanwhile on the Caught by the River Stage atch live musical performances by DJ Don Letts, Wire, Stealing Sheep and The Rockingbirds.
Open East Festival promises a fantastic day out in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for all the family. Young visitors will be enchanted by The House of Fairy Tales who will be presenting their legendary Travelling Art Circus (which includes Gavin Turk’s Space Pyramid), be transported by Discover Children’s Story Centre and Charlie Dark on a hip-hop, poetry puppet adventure, The Hare and The Tortoise Remixed, and encounter Joey from the acclaimed National Theatre production War Horse. They will be dazzled by a multitude of things to see, make and do.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park itself will be one of the stars of the show, with events and moving music performances programmed to encourage audiences to discover the riverbanks and parklands. An array of pop-up performances and participation will surprise and delight audiences exploring this part of London’s newest park throughout the day, and the Open East Festival will culminate each day with a spectacular finale, details of which are being kept under wraps as the organisers, aim to save the surprise.
Visitors will be able to sample the flavours of the world at 70 stalls of London’s best street food sellers and food producers that make up the Real Food Festival, join in a communal feast on the bridge over the River Lea set against the vista of the stadium and the Orbit, sample beers from local breweries from within a 10 mile radius of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at the Ten Mile Beer Festival or simply take time out for a quiet picnic on the banks of the River Lea.
Open East Festival celebrates the first anniversary of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games and the first phase of the Park opening. There will be a number of Games related performances as audiences remember the great summer of sport and culture. The Pandemonium Drummers and BMX riders from the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony will make an appearance as will the Opening Ceremony ‘Thanks Tim’ choreographer Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy and members of Boy Blue Entertainment. Graeae present Ted Hughes’ The Iron Man Directed by Jenny Sealey, the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony Co-Directorthis classic modern fable features a colossal iron puppet taller than a double-decker bus.
The best local talent will also feature with leading east London artists and organisations taking part in the day’s activities, including Theatre Royal Stratford East, Barbican Drum Works, LSO Discovery and local bands from Continental Drifts. Ida Barr – the “old time Music Hall turned rap superstar” character of Christopher Green, will lead a mass, inter-generational sing-a-long with friends from the east London community and Rebecca Davies will host bespoke East End mass bingo games around her Beau Belles Ice Cream Van produced by Artsadmin. Also produced by Artsadmin is Handbag, Geraldine Pilgrim’s celebratory dance performance which features great music, dancing and handbags and will animate the areas on the riverbanks, where you can hop onboard the Floating Cinema.
Art lovers will also get the chance to unearth a future masterpiece at the Art Car Boot Fair and discover hidden treasures at the Urban Bazaar, an art and design community, showcasing the best in UK made, sustainable, up-cycled, vintage and contemporary design featuring Alex Noble.
Open East Festival builds on the long-standing commitment of the Barbican and Create London to bring great arts experiences to the heart of east London communities, and aims to commemorate the creative legacy of London 2012, celebrate its landscape, and bring it to life for everyone to enjoy.
An exclusive pre-sale is available to residents of the six east London host boroughs (Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham, WalthamForest, Greenwich and Barking & Dagenham) from Friday 31 May. Tickets will then be available to members of the public from Monday 3 June. Thanks to the support of Arts Council England and the Legacy Trust UK day tickets are priced at just £9.50 for adults, £6.00 for children aged 5 – 16, and under 5’s go free. Tickets will be available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk/openeastfestival.
