
The Mayor’s Office invested more than £4.6m in the four-year Cultural Olympiad, and levered a further £5m in partnerships, beginning in 2008 and culminating in a 12-week London 2012 Festival.
Johnson said: "2012 was a once in a lifetime year. With the eyes of the world on our city, we had to put on an exceptional cultural festival which cemented London's place as a capital of culture. The scale and ambition of events across the capital was unprecedented, bringing major UK and international artists to an audience of around six million people."
He added that an increasing number of people experienced outdoor art shows for the first time, rising by 50%, taking place on high streets, parks and waterways, as well as landmark buildings and sites.
The capital’s 32 boroughs and the city of London joined forces to create Showtime, hailed as the biggest and most inclusive festival staged in London, which included 400 artists and almost 1,000 shows.
The Mayor also support or co-commissioned a number of other free events across the capital, with the majority available to the public. This included Elizabeth Streb's high jeopardy performances off the top and sides of London landmarks with a finale on the London Eye.
Other events included Jeremy Deller's inflatable version of Stonehenge, managed by Sacrilege, and the installation of a real-life circus in Piccadilly Circus.
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