A YEAR-long celebration is to be launched this month as Glasgow gears up for the Commonwealth Games.

Organisers have unveiled an ambitious programme which will feature theatre, dance, music, visual arts and comedy.

These will include intimate shows and outdoor spectaculars, work in theatres, community centres, on bicycles, by rivers and in botanic gardens, art galleries, cinemas and public spaces.

Culture 2014 is a Scotland-wide countdown to the Games which will continue after the closing ceremony.

Part of its focus will be the Queen's Baton Relay in June next year when the beacon of the Games passes through Scotland's towns and cities.

Festival 2014 is the massive Games-time celebration in Glasgow running alongside the sporting action.

Entertainment and cultural events will fill the streets, spaces and stages of Glasgow from July 19 to August 3, 2014.

Eileen Gallagher, chairwoman of the ceremonies, culture and Queen's Baton Relay committee, said: "With just over one year to go, Glasgow and Scotland are on a global stage and our best artists and performers are about to showcase the finest of Scottish and Commonwealth culture to the world.

"As we count down the days to Glasgow 2014, the nation can be part of the Games in an ambitious programme of performance and entertainment which will touch every corner of Scotland.

"Then, as all eyes turn to Glasgow, the city will burst into life with a massive celebration which will provide an entertaining and memorable Games-time experience for citizens, spectators and visitors alike."

Highlights of the Glasgow 2014 cultural programme will include a range of singing events taking place across Scotland from October, inspiring thousands of people to sign up and get singing in the lead up to and during the Games.

Perch will be a spectacular global performance on multiple stages high above the streets in Scotland, Australia and Brazil, while News Just In will be a continually evolving, satirical comedy set in the fictional media office of Glasgow 2014, similar to the hit TV comedy Drop the Dead Donkey.

Blueblock Studio is an interactive pop-up space for children aged up to four which will highlight the Commonwealth values of friendship and understanding through storytelling, while Scottish actor Tam Dean Burn will undertake a marathon endeavour to cycle across Scotland to read to children all 167 books written by former Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson.

As part of the cultural programme, a disused site near the Emirates Arena will be transformed by a public artwork.

A number of groups will join together on Making the Most of Dalmarnock and work with local communities to design and construct a permanent outdoor learning and play area.

Janet Archer, chief executive of Creative Scotland, said: "Culture 2014 and Festival 2014 are going to be incredible.

"World-leading artists and local communities will work together in a wide range of places.

"Work will be cutting-edge, insightful, fun, spectacular and intimate. It will challenge and delight.

"Culture 2014 will build up to the Games, making connections across Scotland, the UK and the Commonwealth with many amazing opportunities for people across Scotland to get involved.

"Festival 2014 will place arts and culture at the very heart of Glasgow during the Games with a dynamic and vibrant celebration marking the coming together of many nations and people."

Other highlights include a theatrical performance with the cast and audience travelling through parks on bikes as part of the action.

There will be comedy bus tours, a new work looking at attitudes to disability and debates on Glasgow's links with the slave trade.

International and Scottish dance, circus and theatre artists will work with Andrew Watson, the technical director of Cirque du Soleil, to create a unique theatrical experience.

One will be The River, which will involve two high-profile dance performances accompanied by a live choir on boats and along the banks of the Clyde in Glasgow and the Thames in London.

And Sound to Sea will be an inspiring outdoor gala performance on the water and quayside of the Clyde, celebrating Glasgow's history, industry, beauty and resources.

Glasgow Life chairman Archie Graham said: "Glasgow is Scotland's cultural powerhouse and we want to show the world we know how to put on a party. During Games time the city will be transformed with outstanding performances and events which everyone can enjoy.

"I have no doubt every Glaswegian will play their part in the Games, not only by enjoying the very best in sport and culture but by offering an invitation for everyone to come to enjoy our legendary hospitality."

vivienne.nicoll@ eveningtimes.co.uk