'Sacrilege' by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller comes to Belfast

With just over a month to go to the start of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, 'Sacrilege', the life-sized inflatable replica of Stonehenge for people to bounce on by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, is coming to Belfast for one day only from 12noon – 6pm on 26 August 2012 as part of a tour that will see it travel to 25 locations across the country.

A co-commission between Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art and the Mayor of London, the work was enormously popular when, supported by Creative Scotland, it appeared in Glasgow earlier this year. With support from Arts Council England it is now travelling around the country as part of the nationwide London 2012 Festival.

Deller's Sacrilege is aimed at people of all ages and its appearance in The Grove Playing Fields is expected to attract a lot of local interest, adding to the excitement of the country hosting the 2012 Games. It is also light-hearted way for people to think about one of the UK's most iconic historic monuments.

Jeremy Deller said: 'A lot of my work deals with history, and Sacrilege is no exception, this is a way to get reacquainted with ancient Britain with your shoes off.'

Director of Young at Art, Ali FitzGibbon said:

‘We are delighted to be working with the Parks Department and Belfast City Council to bring this internationally acclaimed work of art to Northern Ireland. It is Young at Art’s mission to give every child the right to access exciting and original creative experiences and we think that Jeremy Deller’s Sacrilege is just that: ‘exciting’ and definitely ‘original’ but it’s not just for children, all ages are very welcome!’

Ruth Mackenzie, Director, London2012 Festival, said: 'Jeremy Deller’s life-sized inflatable replica of Stonehenge popping up in National Botanic Garden in Carmarthenshire will be a fantastic opening event for the London 2012 Festival in Wales. The work embodies many of the values of the London 2012 Festival – it is a once in lifetime event, it is a remarkable piece of art by a world renowned artist, and it is free for everyone to enjoy. With thanks to Arts Council England and the Mayor’s office this work will travel around the UK and London, popping up to delight London 2012 Festival audiences throughout the summer.'

As Sacrilege moves across the country the growing tribe of followers is being encouraged to 'offer their images to the gods' by uploading photos of themselves on the installation onto Flickr to create gigantic on-line clan. To check opening times and local weather conditions for each venue, members of the public should follow Sacrilege on Twitter to receive updates direct from the heavens @Sacrilege2012.

'Bouncers' are being encouraged to download free ‘Druid Beards’ from the Sacrilege website – www.sacrilege2012.co.uk colour them in and arrive in druid fancy dress.