Antony Gormley's plinth project live over 100 days

Artist Antony Gormley's new project, in which a different group of 100 people stand on Trafalgar Square's empty fourth plinth for an hour at a time, live around the clock this summer.

The project, called One & Other, will take place over 100 days from 6 July, and will see 2,400 people from all over the UK standing on the fourth plinth for an hour each.

Sky Arts will broadcast the action live as well as screening a weekly programme from the plinth. Viewers will also be able to follow the project on a special website, www.oneandother.co.uk, which will include a 24-hour web-cam and give users the opportunity to vote for their favourite moments.

This is the first project this year to come out of Sky Arts's collaboration with creative producer Artichoke, which aims to bring "public art to life on air, online and on the streets".

Previous shows have included La Machine, a 50ft mechanical spider that paraded through Liverpool last autumn, and The Sultan's Elephant, seen on the streets of London in 2006.
"What really excites us about One & Other is the immediacy that this project will bring to our programming," said John Cassy, channel manager for Sky Arts.

"The fact is, none of us know what's going to happen on the plinth – that's the vision that Antony had, and that's what's so thrilling.

"The Fourth Plinth has become, over the years, a part of our national identity – and we're hoping that through the website and our programmes, we can offer everyone across the UK a chance to become involved, in whichever way they choose."

Gormley added: "The idea is very simple. Through putting a person on to the plinth, the body becomes a metaphor, a symbol.

"The work will allow us to reflect on the diversity, vulnerability and particularity of the individual in contemporary society. It's about people coming together to do something extraordinary and unpredictable."

Sky Arts, which now has three digital TV channels, recently doubled its output to 36 hours every day of the week.

Recent programmes have included Songbook, a series on songwriters; and Brush with Fame, which sees reformed art forger John Myatt paint celebrities such as John Cleese and Robin Gibb in the style of world famous artists.