Olympic light display opened by silver medallist in Islington

An animated sculpture depicting the movements of a diver has been suspended above the Regent’s Canal in Islington.

Olympic medalist and British diver Peter Waterfield opened the light show named Diver to celebrate the 2012 Olympics last week.

The spectacle, best viewed from Danbury Street bridge, is part of a series of eight Olympic-themed animations called Games created by Ron Haselden with help from more than 600 schoolchildren, including those from Islington’s Hanover Primary School, in Noel Road.

Mr Haselden said: “This is the first time I have worked with children to create animated sculptures and I think the results are very exciting.

“The children have all risen to the challenge and have not only created something very special but have at the same time learned something new about how the body moves. I think they will all now look at our Olympic athletes in a totally new way.”

Mr Haselden led drawing workshops at schools in which children worked on “stop-frame” animation, with eight ideas selected.

The project will form a trail across the nine-mile canal route, from Paddington Basin in west London to the Olympic site in the east.

Peter Waterfield, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said: “Games is a terrific way to inspire children to think about sports in a new way and I am naturally delighted that my specialist sport, diving, has been the inspiration for this sculpture.”

The sculpture will be in place until the end of the year.