As part of the British Council 2012 events programme and the London 2012 Festival, more than 50 international embassies and national cultural institutes in the British capital will host exhibitions, installations, lectures and films to highlight the wide variety of architecture schemes and up-and-coming designers in their respective regions.

Many of these events will fall in line with the 2012 London Olympic Games which begin on 27 July, with the Austrian Cultural Forum hosting Urban Sports Pockets, an exhibition looking at impromptu recreation spaces in London and Vienna, and a pop-up display of unrealised Dutch Olympic architecture at the Embassy of the Netherlands.

Director of Architecture, Design and Fashion at the British Council, Vicky Richardson, comments: “This is the first time in London that so many countries have come together to discuss architecture and design. As one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, London is in a good position to host the Showcase, which we hope will bring us closer to less familiar cultures and international design ideas.”