London's weekend of culture

The event takes place at City Hall

A weekend of culture and surprises is being promised to launch mayor Ken Livingstone's cultural strategy for London.

Cultural Capital: Live! is a weekend of activities being staged at City Hall to launch the 10-year plan to promote London as a centre of culture and creative excellence.

There will be a wide range of activities - music, video and sound installations, creative workshops and sports.

Among the performers are Courtney Pine, Michael Nyman, the Bollywood Brass Band and the London School of Samba.

Booker Prize winning author Ben Okri has written a specially commissioned poem - a personal meditation on London - which is the basis of an audio-visual experience visible from the spiral ramp in City Hall.

Workshops and demonstrations include percussion, textile workshops, creative writing, drama and dance.

Living document

My 10-year plan for culture in the capital is a living document and I want all Londoners to have a chance to contribute

Mayor Ken Livingstone

Martial arts, football skills and a special form of tennis, called road tennis, will also feature.

The weekend is designed to encourage public debate about what Londoners want from culture.

Culture in the capital generates up to £29bn a year and employs more than 500,000 people in the creative industries.

The mayor says he wants Londoners to have their say about the future of culture in the city - the weekend is aimed at launching a public consultation.

Free event

"I want the weekend's events and the design of the strategy itself to get people talking about what culture means to them and what they want to see happen over the next 10 years," he said.

"My 10-year plan for culture in the capital is a living document and I want all Londoners to have a chance to contribute."

The mayor's final cultural strategy will be published at the end of the year.

Cultural Capital: Live! is a free event at City Hall on Saturday 31 May 2pm - 7pm and on Sunday 1 June from 11am - 6pm.