As the finale of the Cultural Olympiad, the London 2012 Festival fulfilled its pledge to create a nationwide celebration of the arts in conjunction with the Olympic Games. This kind of celebration is designed to appease people, make them feel involved and patriotic. Great effort was expended on organizing the spectacle, which might have succeeded as a temporary distraction from greater concerns, but could also leave a bitter aftertaste should the promise of an enduring legacy fail to improve long-term well-being. Though the epicenter of activity and most commissioned works remained firmly and predictably anchored in London, the festival also created tangible offshoots across the breadth of the U.K. Everything about the festival was big, loud, and participatory: indeed, participation was built into its remit from the outset …see the entire review in the print version of November’s Sculpture magazine.
