NOTTINGHAM.- In September 2012, the first World Event Young Artists (WEYA) launches in Nottingham. A finale to the Cultural Olympiad, WEYA – the first event of its kind - will bring together 1,000 young artists from 120 nations for a ten-day cultural festival across the city. WEYA now seeks applications from UK-based artists of every discipline who have exciting new work to share and who are open to the possibilities of intercultural dialogue that the festival will afford.

Applications are invited across all art forms - from music, dance, theatre and spoken word to film, visual art and fashion – and from artists aged between 18 and 30. Successful applicants will go on to represent the UK in the festival, and will join artists from countries ranging from Italy, Kenya and Mexico to Canada, India and China. WEYA takes place from 7 to 16 September 2012 and will be held across Nottingham's world class arts venues and in alternative spaces all over the city.

World Event Young Artists is hosted by UK Young Artists. As well as giving artists a high-profile international platform to show their work, WEYA will provide them with opportunities to see work from all over the world, collaborate with other like-minded individuals, network and take part in talks and debates. Successful artists will be chosen by an expert selection panel comprising curators and programmers from a range of UK arts venues.

The closing date for entries is 1 October 2011, with selected artists informed of their success in February 2012. Call for entries for other countries will be announced in different waves throughout the summer.