June 26, 2012 3.50 pm This story is over 141 months old

Lincoln Cathedral to bloom at flower festival

Natural beauty: Lincoln Cathedral to host its 7th flower festival in August, with a specially-comissioned artist.

Lincoln Cathedral will have on display flowers from all over the world in August as part of the annual Flower Festival.

Tens of thousands of blooms from every corner of the globe will be turned into horses, chariots, flames and King Midas for the Olympic-inspired event.

There will be 130 floral arrangements designed to reflect the spirit, history and international flavour of the Olympics.

Visitors will also be treated to artwork specially commissioned from world-renowned paper sculptor Richard Sweeney.

The 7th Flower Festival takes place between August 16 and 20, and includes four life-sized horse sculptures, created using sheets of A1 paper by artist Richard.

His work has previously been shown in Italy, France, the US and London – including Selfridges Oxford Street shop window.

The components of his sculptures will be brought to Lincoln and he will spend a day assembling them in the Nave.

Meanwhile, around 200 women from 26 flower arranging clubs across the county will spend 48 hours transforming the cathedral for the event.

Last year the event attracted more than 10,000 visitors and this year organisers hope both the displays and the visitor numbers will increase.

Tickets for the event cost £10 for adults, £8 for concessions and £7.20pp for large group bookings, and any profits go to Fabric Fund. You can book tickets online.

Photos: Visit Britain