UK Immigration focus on UK immigrant life: 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. On October 29, the British Council's cultural and educational section announced via Weibo that the British Council in London will launch "Shakespeare Lives," a series of commemorative events spanning the entire year of 2016, across 140 countries and regions worldwide.
Not long ago, during President Xi Jinping's visit to the UK, he mentioned Shakespeare multiple times and proposed that China and the UK jointly commemorate the 400th anniversary of the deaths of Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu. Shakespeare has become a bond for China-UK exchanges, and related books have been published and republished. Recently, CITIC Press Group released the second work in the "Master Reading Classics" series, edited by contemporary philosophy pioneer Simon Critchley, titled "The Madness and Triumph of Love: A Guide to Shakespeare."
Next year's Shakespeare commemorative events will feature unprecedented collaboration between the British Council and the BBC, the British Film Institute, the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Shakespeare 400 consortium, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and Shakespeare's Globe.
The British Council has already published the preliminary plan for the commemorative events on its website. It is reported that people from over 140 countries around the world will have the opportunity to participate in various commemorative activities, including online events, stage and film performances, exhibitions, readings, panel discussions, seminars, and teaching resources specifically designed for classrooms and English learners.