Trafalgar airs & grasses

It is one of the quintessential English events: every year audiences pack a hamper and revel in the world's finest opera on the lawns of Glyndebourne.

Now Londoners are going to get the Glyndebourne experience for the first time, and for free - in Trafalgar Square.

On 7 July, the square will host its first live opera production, the English National Opera's La Bohème.

To transform Trafalgar Square into a rural idyll - or an approximation of one - the ENO will carpet its entire span with synthetic grass.

Artistic director Sean Doran said: "This is the first live opera there. It will use the whole scale of the space.

"It's a simple idea of acknowledging the style of the space - which is all concrete as we know - and turning it into a green pasture.

"We hope it will soften Trafalgar Square, and we hope families will think it a good idea to come and picnic in the heart of London and listen to one of the great operas.

"I suppose you could call it the Glyndebournisation of London."

The announcement comes after the ENO revealed it is to perform on the last day of this year's Glastonbury Festival. Both appearances come thanks to a new "partnership" with O2, which will see the telecommunications giant donate an undisclosed sum - believed to be around £500,000 - to the company.

This latest example of increased corporate sponsorship to arts organisations was today praised by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, who said: "I welcome news of this partnership between ENO and O2.

English National Opera, as one of the country's foremost opera companies, has done wonderful work in introducing new people to opera, whilst maintaining an imaginative and accessible programme.