Jubilee Gardens to host Africa stage as part of 2012 'River of Music'

BT River of Music on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July 2012 will be one of the highlights of the London 2012 Festival, a 12-week UK-wide celebration featuring leading artists from around the world.

The weekend of free music from the 205 Olympic & Paralympic nations will take place at six stages representing the continents – Asia in Battersea Park, Africa in Jubilee Gardens, Europe in Trafalgar Square and Somerset House, the Americas at the Tower of London and Oceania in the Greenwich Old Royal Naval College.

Artists confirmed so far include Scissor Sisters, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Naturally 7, Baaba Maal, Angelique Kidjo, Zakir Hussain and Andy Sheppard.

"BT River of Music will be an incredible celebration of world-class live music the weekend before the start of the Games," says Claire Whitaker director of Serious.

"We will be working with the most exciting artists from across the world, the very best of emerging British talent and staging some unique collaborations during the weekend. This will be once in a lifetime experience not to be missed and a fabulous occasion for the whole family to enjoy."

An audience of half a million people is expected over the two-day festival weekend.

Tickets are free but some sites will require advance booking. Ticketing information will be announced in May 2012.

Last week the Mayor of London Boris Johnson visited Jubilee Gardens for a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of work on the transformation of the park to coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Work is due to be completed in May 2012.