north west for 2012

Looping the Loop is the North West’s opening event for London 2012, celebrating the start of Games Time in the UK on 19 May. 

People across the North West are being invited to take a Games inspired cultural journey from Old Trafford Stadium to The Quays on Saturday 19 May. The event will see the area around Old Trafford and The Quays transformed - linking culture and sport and London 2012 to the North West as part of the cultural Olympiad programme in the region.

'Looping the Loop' marks the start of Games Time in the North West and coincides with the beginning of the Olympic Torch Relay in the UK. The event, which runs from 12.30pm to 5pm, begins at Old Trafford, visitors will then be invited to loop the loop from there to The Quays to experience unique street art, performance and dance.

This extraordinary programme offers something new and different that has never been seen before at The Quays. Community groups from across Salford and Trafford will be showcasing their creativity and will be joined by local, regional and international artists including art and sport interactions with plenty of opportunity for visitors to get involved too.

The day will come to an amazing climax when one of the UK’s major event producers and creative forces - Walk the Plank - will lead a world class spectacle focused around the water and the Lowry foot bridge. The finale will also include the unveiling of an Olympic-inspired artwork which will remain in place on the bridge for the duration of the Games.

A highlight of the event will be a performance by Ziya Azazi, the whirling Sufi dancer from Turkey who performs a truly hypnotic dance experience and adds a world class and international dimension to the programme. The programme will feature six new projects with communities who live in 1.5 miles of the Old Trafford stadium, a selection of North West Cultural Olympiad projects such as Greater Manchester All about Us events.

Looping the Loop is a partnership project led by Lets Go Global, Trafford Council in partnership with Salford City Council, The Quays Cultural Partnership (Programming & Participation Groups), Marketing Manchester and creative producers Walk the Plank and the Cultural Olympiad in the North West.

The event hopes to inspire visitors to make their mark on the legacy of the Olympics through the WE PLAY Challenge, a call to the people in the North-West to get involved in the Games and experience the wider London 2012 programme.

Supported by the Arts Council England’s Lottery funded Grants for the arts scheme and by AGMA (Association of Greater Manchester Authorities.