The sights, smells and tastes of China come to London today at the start of a three-week festival to celebrate the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Trafalgar Square will host a series of free dance, music and arts events, focusing on the Chinese capital and London, which will host the 2012 Games.

The schedule includes footage of the Games' opening ceremony tomorrow night on a giant screen at the foot of Nelson's Column.

There will then be daily coverage of key events, including the handover ceremony involving Mayor Boris Johnson on Sunday 24 August.

A spokesman for the annual Trafalgar Square Festival said: "Visitors will be able to keep up to date with how the Games are progressing and cheer on Team Great Britain.

"The screen will remain in place for the Olympic handover ceremony so Londoners can watch as the Mayor receives the Olympic flag on behalf of London and the rest of the UK."

Mr Johnson said the festival would "capture the excitement and anticipation during the Olympic Games and celebrate the relationship between sport and culture as London prepares to stage the Cultural Olympiad". The first week of the festival is called China Inspires and will focus on Beijing.

It includes live performances from artists including Flying Dragon Circus and the Yellow Earth Theatre.

Week two is entitled Olympic Aspirations and features a live production of hip hop musical Into The Hoods, which is currently in the West End.

Organisers have also commissioned Zoo Nation, the dance company behind the musical, to create a show which looks back to the last time London hosted the Olympics in 1948.

The final week will move away from China and look towards the next host city, with the title Images Of London.