London’s largest free festival takes place on September 10–11 along the banks of the River Thames.
The Mayor’s Thames Festival brings together people from all communities to celebrate the city and the river, with events taking place all along the Thames, the riverside walkways, roads, bridges, docks and public open spaces from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge. They include music, dancing, river races, carnival, pyrotechnics, art installations, massed choirs, food and feasting. The weekend ends with an illuminated night carnival along the river and a fireworks display fired from the centre of the Thames.
The main theme for 2011 is fish and there will be a Forgotten Fish Restaurant and fish-themed movie screenings at the Cycle Cinema. The festival also includes the annual Feast on the Bridge, when Southwark Bridge is closed and transformed overnight by a team of artists into a giant banqueting space for a day. In the evening diners will be invited to the Feast on the Bridge restaurant for a special fish meal. As the sun sets there will be a mass toast to the “Thames and all who swim in her.”
For more information, visit www.thamesfestival.org
