PERFORMERS will play out a ‘Battle of the Winds’ on Weymouth beach to encourage perfect conditions for Olympic sailing events.

Disabled and non-disabled performers from across the South West will hold a three-day show of outdoor theatre on the opening weekend of the Olympic Games 2012.

The celebrations, as part of the Cultural Olympiad, will include extreme sports, circus skills, street animations, and live music, taking place at multiple venues in Weymouth and Portland.

It will culminate in a spectacular show on Weymouth beach on Saturday, July 28, 2012 when the performers will ‘release the winds’ in time for the sailing events.

The project, called Breathe, got underway with a research and development day at Weymouth Pavilion for 21 performers.

Breathe was conceived by Diverse City, a South West-based performing arts company that promotes diversity in the industry and is led by disabled artists Jamie Beddard, Alex Bulmer, Mat Fraser and Dave Toole.

They are collaborating with various artistic companies in the South West – Bristol-based Cirque Bijou and Desperate Men, The Remix, Jam, and Double Act, all based in Dorset, and Taunton-based State of Emergency.

The project will also link up with a youth dance company in Florianopolis, Brazil, who are expected to join the performance in Weymouth next year.

Performers at the research and development day had a live video link-up to Brazil to meet their counterparts and exchange ideas for the celebration.

Claire Hodgson, chief executive of Diverse City, said: “We are doing the performance on Weymouth beach because we are all based in the South West and we wanted to do something for the Olympics.

“Also to promote disabled people being an integral part of the Olympic project and one way to do that is to show disabled artists’ work on the opening weekend of the Olympics.”

The day was funded by Arts Council England and the group will submit a bid for further funding for the main performance.