Churches get cultural for Olympics

Visitors coming to London for the Olympics will be able to sample music, dance and the visual arts thanks to the More Than Gold coalition.

The umbrella group for church outreach during the Olympics has announced more than 700 free performances across London during the Olympics.

Venues include Southwark Cathedral, Westminster Abbey Green, Methodist Central Hall and All Souls Church, Langham Place.

The performances will be staged by 40 teams of artists coming to the capital from more than 30 countries.

Among the talent on display with be an Indian musician playing a multi-stringed guitar with built in bongo drums, an international folk-rock band, a Hawaiian-based dance troupe and a children’s ballet company.

Julie Spence, of More Than Gold, says, "The array of original talent from both performing and visual artists is quite staggering. Visitors are in for an absolute treat.

"This is about more than great performances and outstanding art. All involved use their talents to provoke questions about life and faith and point to Jesus as being key to having them answered."

Performers include Benny Prasad, an extraordinary musician who has created his own instrument, the Bentar, which includes a traditional six string guitar plus a 22 string harp, 20 sitar strings, a bongo and a tabla.

Benny has taken his music to over 60 countries, playing to large audiences including kings, parliaments, dignitaries and celebrities.

Heartbridge are a contemporary dance and performing arts company based on the Hawaiian island of Kona. Their latest production, Coming Home, has been performed in over a dozen countries including Japan, China, Israel and Jordan.

Liz and the Lions are a six piece acoustic folk band with members from England, Germany and the US. They blend their individual musical backgrounds to create a distinctive sound that has been welcomed in acoustic cafés, classical halls and céilidh festivals.