Created by Edinburgh based artist Craig Coulthard, the Forest Pitch arts project will create a full-size football pitch hidden within a forest a couple of miles east of Selkirk in the Scottish Borders.

Currently under construction, the commercial trees felled to make space for the pitch will be used to create goalposts, a shelter and other parts of the site infrastructure. After the Olympics, the site will be left to grow back naturally - with some native species being replanted to encourage a more diverse environment.

In the summer of 2012 Forest Pitch will host two football matches with teams made up of amateurs from across Scotland who have taken up British citizenship since the year 2000. Spectators will be invited to represent the players' families and the local community, and the intervals between matches will be filled with performances and music forming a unique sporting and artistic event.

This major commission aims to encourage debate about national identity, the natural world, sustainability, the nature of collective memory and the benefits of sporting participation. Visit the Forest Pitch website for up-to-date news on the project’s progress and for details of how you can take part in the project.

Forest Pitch is part of Artists taking the lead, a series of 12 public art commissions across the UK to celebrate the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Scotland from Artists Taking the Lead on Vimeo.

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