The beginning of the Cultural Olympiad, on the weekend of 26-27 September, will see more than 100 museums, archives and libraries taking part in a range of activities.

The activities are part of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council's (MLA) Setting the Pace programme, launched to offer support for institutions contributing to the Olympiad.

Phase one of Setting the Pace has two elements - The People’s Record, which for the first time in Olympic history will capture people’s experience of living in an Olympic host nation; and Literature and Stories, which will use collections as creative inspiration for young poets, and as a source for story telling and performance events.

The Cultural Olympiad begins a day after the ending of the Beijing Olympic Games and will run up until the beginning of the London 2012 games.

Bill Morris, director of culture of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), said: "I am delighted that museums are with us at the start of our four year journey, to create a programme of cultural events to celebrate the UK’s wonderful and diverse cultures and inspire a generation of young people."

Setting the Pace will complement Stories of the World - one of the ten major projects of the Cultural Olympiad, led by MLA in partnership with LOCOG.

Stories of the World will showcase reinterpreted collections through a network of exhibitions. Further details will be announced during the launch of the Cultural Olympiad.