Around 20 million people took part in London 2012 Festival

Almost 20 million people took part in the London 2012 Festival, the programme of cultual events that ran alongside the Games.

Tony Hall, chairman of the Cultural Olympiad and chief executive of the Royal Opera House, praised "an extraordinary summer for arts and culture on a scale that has never ever been done before by any nation at the time of the Olympics.

Yesterday marked the end of the 12-week festival, which brought more than 13,500 cultural events across the UK. Latest figures showed that 19.5 million people had participated to the end of August. Mr Hall, pictured, added that it was a testament to the "power of yes" pointing to the example of an art installation on Hadrian's Wall. "That needed 121 landowners to say yes and because of 2012 they did," he added. "As we look at legacy, the power of yes as opposed to saying 'it'll never happen'… We need to think about that quite carefully."