A bumper summer in New York

The great outdoors in New York is the place to be this summer, as the Big Apple prepares itself for a bumper calendar of al fresco events.

Central Park, usually a mass of sun-bathers and joggers at the best of times, will become a vibrant music and theatrical venue over the summer months.

Between June and September, Central Park will be the home of a number of events including Broadway Under the Stars, a free concert that brings stage classics and Broadway's premier performers to the outdoors.

Or if you go to park's Great Lawn, you will discover the Central Park Summer Stage, a hip and popular mix of live music, featuring the likes of Bonnie Raitt and Britain's hoodie honey Lady Sovereign. There are also spoken word performances as well as screenings of short films.

The works of the Bard can be enjoyed in the open-air, just as Shakespeare intended, when the Public Theatre brings a series of performances of his plays such as Macbeth to Delacorte Theatre in the park.

From classic drama to classic music, the Great Lawn and several parks in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island will be the venues for performances from the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera.

Finally there is one of New York's longest running, free outdoor events, Celebrate Brooklyn, which attracts more than 200,000 people to Prospect Park, with music from an eclectic mix of urban artists.

For more information about the above events, visit www.nycvisit.com, www.summerstage.org, www.publictheater.org, www.newyorkphilharmonic.org, www.metopera.org and www.brooklynx.org.
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