LONDON.- Wembley Park unveiled Flight – a major new commission by London-based street artist Remi Rough – to celebrate the commencement of its summer cultural programme, Summer of Play.

Known for his dramatic and colourful abstract compositions that have transformed buildings and locations around the world, Rough was inspired by the Wembley Park site’s flow of people in devising the concept for Flight. With the iconic arch of Wembley Stadium in the background, the design is viewed as distinct elements until the viewer stands directly in front, at which point the image dramatically locks into place.

Flight’s arrival officially kicks off Summer of Play – a curated season of cultural activities that invite visitors and residents to enjoy the transformed Wembley Park over the summer months. The programme adds to the headline music and sporting events for which the area is internationally known, and forms part of an ambitious multi-year cultural strategy for the area as it rapidly evolves into one of London’s newest cultural neighbourhoods and destinations.

Programme strands:

Summer of Music
· The Mayor of London’s International Busking Day relocates from Trafalgar Square to Wembley Park as it is recognised as the official global destination for International Busking Day 2018, with GLA-supported busking across the site throughout the summer

· ‘Gigs’, the 10th annual competition to find the best young talent in the UK, comes to Wembley Park for its London heat, providing a unique platform for the next generation of talent to be discovered. To help prepare, a free Gigs Academy Day at SSE Arena, Wembley will put performers through their paces with practical advice from industry professionals

· Free guitar lessons with professional instructors at The Yellow Pavilion

Summer of Film
· The first chance for the general public to experience Encore screenings of National Theatre Live broadcasts in a deckchair setting in Arena Square, for free

· Bollywood Nights – a season of Bollywood Blockbusters including JAB TAK HAI JAAN, HICHKI, SHUDDH DESI ROMANCE, SULTAN, DIWALE DULHANA LE JAYENGE and CHANDHI

· To celebrate the return of Queen + Adam Lambert to the SSE Wembley Arena, Wembley Park presents ‘Queen on Screen’, with back-to-back outdoor screenings of the legendary QUEEN – LIVE AT WEMBLEY STADIUM concert in 1986, and THE FREDDIE MERCURY TRIBUTE CONCERT held at Wembley Stadium in 1992, featuring performances by Elton John, George Michael, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Liza Minelli, Axl Rose and many more

Summer of Movement
· Rendezvous Gathering XIII, the world’s signature annual international parkour event, comes to Wembley Park for a three-day event of professional displays, open jams and workshops. Events and performances across the park are complemented by free weekly classes delivered by Parkour Generations at the Yellow Pavilion, providing instruction and guidance for all to learn the basics of parkour

· Color Run, the happiest 5k on the planet, returns to Wembley Park to cover streets and runners alike in glorious technicolour

· Free health and fitness classes and sessions at The Yellow Pavilion, including Wembley Park Cycle Club, London Youth Rowing, Wembley Stadium Running Club and yoga

Summer of Making
· Flag making and woodcarving creative workshops hosted by Emergency Exit Arts and led by artists Stephen Stockbridge and Helen Davenport, with free sessions for local children

· Talks bringing leading authors, thinkers and personalities to Wembley Park for a series of ideas-led creative events

· Hands on sessions to learn the skills and techniques of urban gardening, with regular sessions at The Yellow Pavilion

Summer of Design
· Flight – a major public art installation by acclaimed international artist Remi Rough. The commission adds works previously commissioned under the Wembley Park Street Art Project, including Mr Doodle’s transformation of Olympic Way, and a 40m mural designed and painted by 100 local children developed in partnership with Global Street Art

· The arrival of So Last Century Vintage and Retro fair, the first in NW London with mid-century pieces sold alongside contemporary work from residents of Wembley Park’s 26 affordable studio spaces

· Guided architectural tours of Wembley Park as part of Open House London, with a chance to go behind the scenes and discover secret locations across one of the world’s most iconic destinations.

· Tours of Second Floor Artist studios to meet the 28 artists and designers resident at Wembley Park

Summer of Play adds to the major events taking place at Wembley Stadium and SSE Arena, Wembley, as well as a burgeoning retail and food offer at the London Designer Outlet, which is visited by over 7m visitors each year. Wembley Park is fast establishing its credentials as a new creative hub for the capital, with the recent opening of 26 affordable artist studios and the announcement of London’s largest Boxpark to date, Boxpark Wembley, set to open in the autumn, and a public art strategy due to be announced later this year Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre was also recently announced, opening its doors in November. Delivered by the award-winning team behind King’s Cross Theatre, it will offer a flexible 1,000-2,000 seat capacity space being created inside the former Fountain Studios, best known as the venue of live televised shows including The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.

Other projects in the pipeline for Wembley Park - one of Europe’s largest regeneration schemes - include the opening of 6,100 new homes in addition to the 1,400 already built, a school and major investment in public parks, which will bring the total area of open spaces to over 42 acres.

At the heart of Wembley Park, The Yellow Pavilion Community Centre has been created to build a vibrant and happy neighbourhood by bringing together existing and new residents, workers and local groups through an extensive weekly programme of community activities, ranging from urban gardening to Indian classical dance.

Remi Rough, artist and creator of Flight says: “Wembley Park is an exciting place undergoing huge transformation. You quickly get a sense of it being a very dynamic and creative place, and I wanted this work to reflect and enhance this.

“I wanted Flight to be a containment of movement so that people can enjoy the experience simply by being within the installation, but not feel the need to only look at it in its entirety.

“The installation is essentially there to move around, upon and within; even in its static state it’s constantly moving. It seems a very appropriate way to begin a summer of activity at Wembley Park!”