Cate Blanchett, Toni Morrison, Olafur Eliasson, David Hockney, Mike Leigh, Jude Law and Damon Albarn, Rufus Norris and Jamie Hewlett are the stars in the line-up of artists to be commissioned for special projects for the London 2012 Festival.
Whilst arts spending cuts are biting hard, the Cultural Olympiad's 12 week celebration of British creativity will be bursting with big name commissions and high profile collaborations.
Of particular interest to London, former Tate Turbine Hall Unilever residents Rachel "sugarcube" Whiteread and Olafur "sunshine" Elliason are tasked with coming up with something for the visual arts, whilst Martin "running about, turning the lights on and off" Creed tackles a sound installation.
East London gets a "major outdoor music event" courtesy of BBC Radio 1 and the Thames becomes the "River of Music" with a series of concerts at picturesque points, aimed at entertaining half a million people.
The World Shakespeare Festival will see the Roundhouse, Barbican and National Theatre in bed with each other and Simon Armitage will lead Poetry Parnassus with the Southbank Centre, uniting poets from all Olympic nations.
Exciting? Yes, and of course great 2012 projects need funding but we can't help worrying about the wonderful artsdepot in Barnet, threatened with closure due to core funding being cut. Show your support, sign the petition to save it.
More information on London Festival 2012 will follow in 2011.
Image of patriotic helmets by the Olympic Stadium by Andy Wilkes, in November. Check out Andy's Olympic construction blog for more.
