Brazilian culture to hit Southbank

Highlights of the programme include performances from acclaimed Brazilian musicians

Gilberto Gil and Maria Bethania, as well as art from sculptor Ernesto Neto.

Another major attendee will be former Brazilian international footballer Socrates who will be holding a literature event.

The Southbank Centre's artistic director Jude Kelly said: "We're a festival site so it's exciting to present a mosaic of the most festive country in the world.

"There is so much going on in Brazil at the moment. It has the Olympics coming in 2016 and the World Cup in 2014.

"The idea is to bring together many different artists and show what the country is thinking at the moment.

"It's a place which always said it would have a fantastic future and now it's living that future."

The events will take place over the summer inside venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery, as well as outside on riverside terraces and rooftops.

The festival kicks off on June 19 with the opening of Neto's exhibition at the Hayward Gallery and its terraces.

He will also be part of The New Decor show at the Hayward - a collection of work by 30 contemporary artists from across the globe.

Socrates, one of the world's greatest players who appeared 60 times for Brazil in the '70s and '80s, will be at Brazilian Words on July 18 - as part of the London Literature Festival.

Socrates, who is a doctor of medicine and has qualifications in philosophy, will be in conversation with composer and writer Jose Miguel Wisnik and football writer Alex Bellos.

Also at the literature event will be author Milton Hatoum and poet and musician Arnaldo Antunes.

The spoken word and poetry sessions, taking place between July 16 and 18, will be the first of two specialist weekends, followed by a Brazilian music weekend between August 6 and 8.

The musical phase will include free events on Latin dancing and carnival costume making. Other events include Brazil! Brazil! - an acrobatic show based around football.

Kelly said: "The aim is to think about what Brazil is talking about.

"It's so extraordinary to go to the favelas and realise that for these young people - many of whom would have once felt they had little in the way of a future - the role of culture is helping them change their sense of self. It's amazing."

Festival Brazil runs from June 19 to Sept 5. For more information and full events listings go to southbankcentre.co.uk/brazil.