World Event Young Artists is the first event of its kind, and aims to make a spectacular finale to the Cultural Olympiad in the East Midlands. Featuring artists from countries as disparate as Russia, Brazil, India, Iran, Namibia, Rwanda, Israel, Syria and the UK, it will include music, dance, theatre, spoken word performances and visual art, as well as photography and multimedia shows. All of the artists involved will be brought to Nottingham, and encouraged to discuss their work with visitors.

"World Event Young Artists is a rare opportunity to see the work of original creative talents from all corners of the globe, but what makes it genuinely unique is the opportunity to meet all of the artists involved," says Silke Pillinger, director of the festival. "The way in which Nottingham will be transformed during the 10 days is going to be a truly unique experience for all who attend."

The exhibitions and events will take place at 30 venues across Nottingham, including: Backlit, which will host work by two UK photographers, Emma Walker and Tom Archer; Photographers' Hub, which will exhibit images by Indian photographer Tenzing Dakpa and a project involving photographs and QR codes by Singaporean multimedia artist Kamarulzaman Bin Moamed Sapiee.

The artists taking part were selected by indepedent panels in each of the partner nations, which were comprised of curators and programmers from a range of international arts venues. In addition, the opening weekend will include a DJ set by world music aficionado Gilles Petersen and a performance by Mandala that will mark the close of the Cultural Olympiad in the East Midlands.

The festival is delivered by UK Young Artists and builds on the success of the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean. "Following the successful UK Young Artists event that took place in Derby in 2010, we perceived a clear need to provide a platform, here in the UK, for young emerging artists to collaborate with their international counterparts within a large scale, cross artform festival environment," commented Professor Terry Shave, Nottingham Trent University and chair of UKYA.

UK Young Artists is a new organisation devoted to showcasing young practitioners aged between 18-30, and the result of a partnership between Nottingham Trent University, De Montfort University, Loughborough University and the University of Derby. This festival is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad in the East Midlands and is supported by Igniting Ambition - which in turn is supported by Legacy Trust UK, the European Regional Development Fund and the East Midlands Development Agency, with the support of Arts Council England and many others.

For more information, visit www.worldeventyoungartists.com