The nominated artists were chosen from a list of some 100, but organizers would not disclose how they came to their final decision. Asked why Damien Hirst had not made the list, for example, Ruth Mackenzie, director of the Cultural Olympiad, replied: "I think the answer is, we're not going to go there."
Emin told reporters at an event at Tate Britain gallery, held exactly a year before the London 2012 Festival event gets underway, that she wanted her poster to be a celebration of life in the city. "(I want to) show the world that London can really throw a party and that was what it was like with the royal wedding," she said, referring to the recent marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton that attracted a huge global television audience. "In times of depression, what came across as really, really cool was the arts.
Arts and culture is the soul of the country," she added. "I'm interested in the party scene, the celebration."
