Poetry Olympics - 25 September 2005 - London, Royal Albert..

The Poetry Olympics celebrates Three Birthdays with a Jamboree of stellar
performances at the Royal Albert Hall


On September 25th, the Royal Albert Hall will once again host The Poetry
Olympics. This event, known this year as The Poetry Olympics Twenty05,
celebrates the 40th anniversary of the First International Poetry Incarnation
which jam-packed the Royal Albert Hall in 1965; the 25th year of Poetry
Olympics festivals; and the 70th birthday of Olympic torchbearer and
coordinator Michael Horovitz.

This year's line-up features diverse artists, singer-songwriters, actors and
musicians including Pete Townshend; Jerry Hall; Beth Orton; Fran Landesman;
Linton Kwesi Johnson; Grace Nichols; Christopher Logue; Sujata Bhatt; John
Hegley; Annie Whitehead, and Horovitz, among others tbc - and will be co-hosted
by the BBC's James Naughtie.

"It was like I'd climbed Mount Everest, or jumped out of a plane," said Kylie
Minogue about her appearance in the 1996 Albert Hall Olympics. "So many things
I had avoided for so long were right there. That was what Nick [Cave] was
saying to me. 'It'll be brilliant: it'll confront all of your past, all in one
fell swoop.' And he was right."

Produced by New Departures Ltd, a charitable publishing and performing group
dedicated to the continuity of performance poetry and living arts, Poetry
Olympics Twenty 05 aims to delight and inspire, and remind the audience of the
power and pizzazz of intermedic and performance arts. This unrepeatable
gathering brings together a nucleus of the most varied twenty-first century
troubadours, reintroducing the public to perhaps the longest-standing known
cultural tradition - of poetry, songs, music and acting conjoined in community
celebration.

Previous Poetry Olympics have featured superlative performances by artists
ranging from Allen Ginsberg and Paul McCartney, through Ray Davies with Damon
Albarn, to Joe Strummer and Patti Smith.

This year's line-up has been selected for the quality of its collective lyrics,
music, poetry and performances to make for a unique evening of first-class
entertainment. The event will levitate the Albert Hall by means of a
transcultural time-travelling rocketship which harbours artists who starred in
the momentous 1965 Internationale (Logue, Adrian Mitchell, Spike Hawkins)
alongside younger contemporaries clearly set to carry the baton of vital lyric
communications (Eliza Carthy, Stacy Makishi, Rachel Fuller) on - towards ever
newer departures for future generations.

For Tickets to this historic event on Sunday, 25th September at 7pm, which
range in cost from £5 (Gallery Concessions) to £40 (Grand Tier Boxes), visit
www.royalalberthall.com - or telephone 0207 589 8212.

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About New Departures Ltd:
New Departures Ltd has been established to continue the work of jazz troubadour
Michael Horovitz and New Departures, the publishing and performance
organisation he founded four decades ago. Horovitz has worked tirelessly to
ensure that the most diverse and cosmopolitan artists and audiences can share
the pursuit of high level artistic communications.

New Departures is about to become a charitable trust. Any profits from this
September 25 megagig, and/or future events, will be channelled into this
charity for the continuity of performance poetry and living arts on stages,
pages, recordings and screens.

Other upcoming events:
There will also be a Jazz Poetry SuperJam at the 100 Club (100 Oxford Street,
London W1) on National Poetry Day, Thursday 6th October, which will include
tributes to the much missed multi-talented Dick Heckstall-Smith and Jeff
Nuttall.

Poets, singers and musicians performing include Pete Brown, Adam and Michael
Horovitz, Libby Houston, Peter Lemer, Michael Lukes, Molly and Sophie Parkin,
and Annie Whitehead. Tickets are £10 (£7.50 Members & Concessions) and will be
available at the door from 7.15pm.


For more information, interviews or images please contact:

Joslyn Tinker
Cancan Communications
4 Flitcroft Street
London
WC2H 8DJ

Phone: 0207 395 0500
Fax: 0207 395 0519
joslyn.DeleteThis@cancancommunications.com
www.cancancommunications.com
www.poetryolympics.com