Tracey Emin among 12 British artists chosen to design the 2012 Olympic posters

Twelve artists including Tracey Emin, Martin Creed and Chris Ofili will design a set of posters for the Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer, as Britain seeks to use the events to showcase its cultural heritage.

The nominated artists were chosen from a list of some 100, but organizers would not disclose how they came to their final decision. Asked why Damien Hirst had not made the list, for example, Ruth Mackenzie, director of the Cultural Olympiad, replied: “I think the answer is, we’re not going to go there.”

Emin told reporters at an event at Tate Britain gallery, held exactly a year before the London 2012 Festival event gets underway, that she wanted her poster to be a celebration of life in the city.

“(I want to) show the world that London can really throw a party and that was what it was like with the royal wedding. In times of depression, what came across as really, really cool was the arts. Arts and culture is the soul of the country. I’m interested in the party scene, the celebration.”

Photo: Sebastian Coe with Tracey Emin and Olympic Artwork posters (pic: PA)

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.