It is hoped the Lottery-funded campaign set up by The Heritage Alliance and London 2012 will inspire communities to discover the ‘hidden gems’ in their local environment through a series of events.

To celebrate its launch, more than 100 free Discovering Places events will take place across the UK this weekend (23-25 July), from guided tours of Parliament to mass picnics and treasure hunts.

The events will coincide with this weekend’s London 2012 Open Weekend supported by BP, which will see hundreds more sporting, arts and cultural challenges set up across the UK to celebrate the nation’s two year countdown to the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

"With just two years to go until the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Cultural Olympiad is already show-casing the diversity of culture the UK has to offer," said minister for culture Ed Vaizey.

"Nowhere is this more marked than in the sheer range of our built, natural and historic environments. From the world famous to the unfamiliar, palaces to pubs and from castles to church crypts, Discovering Places will tell this country’s story through our surroundings," he added.

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