This week has seen the opening of Turner Prize winner's Anthony Gormley's 100 day art project on the Fourth Plinth, Trafalgar Square.

Members of the public have been invited to stand on the empty plinth for an hour each, for 24 hours a day, until 14th October; a total of 2,400 people will take part.

The Fourth Plinth, built in 1841, was originally intended for an equestrian statue but has been vacant for many years. It is now used for specially commissioned artwork.

The project, entitled 'One and Other' is a winning idea; it beat competition from four big names in contemporary art, including Tracey Emin.

The application process is ongoing and anybody over 16 from any corner of the UK is invited to apply; once selected volunteers are able to do anything on the plinth that is legal.

"It will be an experiment," says Gormley. "I imagine that there will be extroverts who will see this as an opportunity to do the biggest party trick ever. But I have no expectations. I would be absolutely happy if somebody got up there with an umbrella and just stood still for an hour. The idea is that this will be a portrait of Britain made out of 2,400 hours of 2,400 people's lives."

Five minutes before the first participant was due onto the plinth on the 6th July, the drama had already started, Stuart Holmes, an anti-smoking protestor managed to get up onto the plinth with an anti-smoking banner saying "Save the Children. Ban Tobacco and Actors Smoking". After some gentle nudging from Major of London, Boris Johnson, and Gormley, Holmes got down, making way for Rachel Wardell, a housewife from Lincolnshire, giving back her rightful position as the first volunteer on the plinth.

Following this, there has been a nurse from Brighton, a graduate dressed in a panda costume, a woman releasing 49 helium balloons and a town crier to name but a few, and still with many more to come.

To find out more and how to apply click here: www.oneandother.co.uk