The Thames Festival

By Hazel Last edited 210 months ago
The Thames Festival
BrainBus.jpg

It's time for the Thames Festival again. Previous festivals have opened with a high-wire walk across the width of the Thames and closed with a "river of fire" fireworks show. This year's two days of street theatre, fireworks, art installations, food, drink, music and circus laid on by the Mayor is as packed full of... well, stuff as any other year and a little bit more.

The night carnival on Sunday is the talking point and out of all the spectacles in the festival, this is the longest, biggest and most breathtaking: traffic will be closed on Victoria Embankment and Blackfriars Bridge so that 2,500 musicians, dancers and performers on illuminated floats and in brilliant costumes can wrap up the two day event. Get into position around 9.45pm for the huge fireworks finale due to start with a very literal bang at 10.00pm - the pyrotechnics are set on the river between Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridge so anywhere along that should get you a good viewpoint.

While there are many, many, many marvellous things in the programme, there is just no sodding room to mention them all. However, one thing stands out that isn't quite standard festival fodder and that's the big purple bus in the picture above. The Yahoo! Brain Bus is going to be parked by Battle Bridge near Hay's Galleria for the duration of the Thames Festival and is, basically, Yahoo! Answers on wheels. This new information service from Yahoo! allows anyone and everyone to ask a question on the site and have it answered by other users - normal folk who may or may not be experts on the topics raised. The idea is that normal everyday people are extremely knowledgeable about the oddest things; and why not make the most of that?

In a Yahoo! Answers survey, 79 per cent of Londoners admitted they liked giving advice (though not necessarily telling the truth) and almost everyone enjoys telling others what they know and how they would do certain things. On board the bus, the Yahoo! Answers Team will test your knowledge and expertise in all manner of areas thorugh quizzes and activities on the bus, and will be able to tell you what you are an expert in and if you favour the left or right side of your brain.

So this weekend, share your brain aboard the Yahoo! Brain Bus then have them blown away by the Thames Festival. It's what a typical weekend in London is for.

Thames Festival, Saturday 16 September to Sunday 17 September. Go to the festival website for the full programme here. More information about the Yahoo! Brain Bus is available here.

Last Updated 14 September 2006