London school children Get Set to perform in London 2012 Ceremonies

[richard]

To mark six months to go to the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) have today announced that the under 16s Volunteer Performer Cast for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be selected from schools in the six Host Boroughs that are in the ‘Get Set network’, the official London 2012 education programme, and incorporating the Olympic and Paralympic Values into their curriculum.


• Children chosen from Host Borough schools

Eighteen primary and seven secondary schools in the six Host Boroughs have been involved in an audition process for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony involving children aged 7-9 years and 11-13 years. In total 1,650 children auditioned for the London 2012 Ceremonies Mass Movement Team, undertaking large scale choreography as well as dance routines. More than 900 children will be selected over the coming weeks to perform in the Opening Ceremony on July 27th 2012, watched by 80,000 people in the Olympic Stadium and a worldwide TV audience of over a billion people.

For the selected children there will be between 15 and 20 rehearsals taking place initially at the selected schools, then in East London at London 2012 Ceremonies rehearsal sites and finally in the Olympic Stadium. LOCOG is providing transport between the schools and the rehearsal venues for the young people.

Seb Coe, London 2012 Chair, said: ‘Being part of the Ceremonies is a great way of inspiring young people, I’m delighted school children from the Host Boroughs will be part of show and help tell our story to world. The students involved will have an incredible experience which will build their confidence and a sense of pride in themselves, their friends, family, school and wider community.’

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: ‘We want to create a legacy from the Games by inspiring our young people and ensuring they are at the heart of the celebrations. Not only are we giving young Londoners free tickets to watch the spectacle of sport, hundreds of youngsters will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to actually take part in the biggest event on the planet, watched by millions of people around the world.’

Selected schools from the six Host Boroughs will be auditioning in February for the London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony. More details on selection of schools within the six Host Boroughs for the London 2012 Paralympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be announced at a later date.

Applications are open until 22 February for adult volunteer performers to audition to participate in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. LOCOG are searching for 5,000 volunteer performers to fill roles as dancers, actors, percussionists and general all-round performers. People can find more information and register their interest for this opportunity by completing the online application form at www.london2012.com/ceremoniescasting

Ends.

For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com/press. Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://www.london2012.com/blog or follow us on Twitter
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Notes to editors:

Press materials
• Download images of Danny Boyle visiting a school selected to audition for the Olympic Opening Ceremony here.

• Download images of Danny Boyle with the Ceremonies Team here from 11.00am

• B-roll footage from the school auditions in January and adult volunteer performer auditions for the Olympic Ceremonies in December is available by contacting the LOCOG Press Office.

• B-roll interview footage with Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry is available by contacting the LOCOG Press Office.

• A media fact pack on the London 2012 Games can be downloaded at www.london2012.com/press

Schools that have auditioned for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony are:

NEWHAM
• Essex Primary School
• Colegrave Primary School
• Hallsville Primary School
• Lister Community School
• Cumberland School

GREENWICH
• Crown Woods College
• Nightingale Primary School
• Heronsgate Primary School
• Sherington Primary School

BARKING AND DAGENHAM
• All Saints Catholic School
• Hunters Hall Primary School
• Grafton Junior School
• Warren Junior School

WALTHAM FOREST
• Heathcote School & Science College
• St Josephs RC Junior School
• Henry Maynard Junior School
• Jenny Hammond Primary School

TOWER HAMLETS
• Langdon Park School
• Marner Primary School
• Manorfield Primary School
• Marian Richardson Primary School

HACKNEY
• Gainsborough Primary School
• Brook Community Primary School
• Sir Thomas Abney Primary School
• Skinners Academy

London 2012 Games partners:

The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.

LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery.


Source
www.london2012.com

Image: Danny Boyle, Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Artistic Director, visits Colegrave Primary School in Newham, one of the schools selected to audition for the London 2012 Ceremonies.