Jersey could stage 2012 Olympics cultural festival

Springfield Stadium in St Helier could be the venue for an Olympic festival

Plans have been announced for a cultural festival in Jersey to coincide with the London 2012 Olympic Games.

A Christian group is proposing the event, which could be staged at venues such as Springfield Stadium or Fort Regent.

The Reverend Billy Slatter said: "There's a strip of water that separates us from the sporting venues.

"But we can engage with the cultural aspect, which they call the cultural Olympiad."

With two years still to go until the Olympics, Mr Slatter has already spoken to leaders of various Christian denominations in Jersey.

He told BBC Jersey: "Everybody's on board with this now so hopefully we will be able to put on a number of small things, but also it would be good to have an island-wide festival that celebrates the different cultures we have within the island.

"What I'd really like to see is a few people who can capture this vision and offer a bit of energy and commitment to it to make it happen.

"We've been speaking to the Education, Sport and Culture Department and they are offering some help.

"We've talked of Fort Regent and Springfield - that seems to be favourite at the moment."