Lights spectacular for Olympic flame's arrival in Lake District

With less than one year to go until the London 2012 Festival is launched – on June 21 – organisers have announced that Les Commandos Percu will light up Windermere with a dramatic show which will follow the Olympic flame’s arrival in Bowness.

The project is being led by Lakes Alive and will see a world premiere of the French performers new show, which will feature original music, drumming and amazing pyrotechnics.

Lakes Alive has been at the forefront of LOCOG’s Cultural Olympiad programme and Julie Tait, director of Kendal Arts International, which leads Lakes Alive, is thrilled to have the chance to showcase the area internationally.

She said: “We are obviously keen to raise the profile of Lakes Alive in the bigger festival and the event will hopefully excite people and give cause for celebration. We want people to come up from London and see the effects of the Olympics outside of the capital.

“The fact we are being seen as a serious player is brilliant and we are hoping businesses in tourism and the community see just what an opportunity this offers and we can hopefully get more people involved with the Olympics.”

Ms Tait said the free show will be on an unprecedented level and will be a true spectacle of Anglo-French collaboration.

She added: “We have to show we are ambitious and we have aspirations to be seen on a world stage.”

Lakes Alive have just announced their summer programme for their flagship event – Mintfest – which promises to be better than ever and later in the year.

Cultural Olympiad director Ruth Mackenzie added: “Lakes Alive is one of the most brilliant inventions of the Cultural Olympiad.

“We want to have an event that will kick off the cultural festival in partnership with Lakes Alive and I have the greatest of confidence that Lakes Alive can bring those amazing artists, global and local, to create something that we’ll actually all be proud of.”