The Mayor's Thames Festival 2011

By Sponsor Last edited 150 months ago
The Mayor's Thames Festival 2011

This post is produced in association with the Mayor's Thames Festival.

The great end-of-summer party is back. The Mayor's Thames Festival takes place this weekend (10-11 September), celebrating the capital and the famous river at its heart.

This year's extravaganza includes four geographic areas.

Zone 1: London Eye to Waterloo Bridge – check out the burning beats at White Mink's Electro Swing Speakeasy, take to the floor at the Lady Luck Jive stage, and admire a magical aerial installation of illuminated frocks from French group Mastoc Production. Hook your bicycle up to the cycle-in cinema, take a photo masterclass and don’t miss the free 3-D screenings at the BFI.

Zone 2: Waterloo to Blackfriars Bridge – this stretch is the heart of the Festival's night-time activities, with an illuminated Carnival of 2,000 dancers, drummers and masqueraders. If you see the procession from Victoria Embankment, you'll have a prime spot to view the spectacular Fireworks Finale on the River Thames. During the day you can marvel at displays of Korean Taekwondo, enjoy a mix of art, live music and theatre at the National Theatre, and have hat-making fun with a 7km roll of paper.

Zone 3: Blackfriars Bridge to London Bridge – Carrying on downriver, you'll find the Barclaycard stage at Tate Modern, featuring the best of cutting-edge underground music, including Mercury Prize-nominated Ghostpoet and Dionne Bromfield. Make a lantern for the Night Carnival, fire a pot on the river foreshore or head to Southwark Bridge to toast the Thames and tuck in to a fabulous sustainable-fish feast.

Zone 4: London Bridge to Tower Bridge and beyond – Here you can kick back and enjoy the festival's family-friendly river and environment zone, try out your tango steps or head over to St Katharine Docks to see a fabulous variety of vintage boats, sculling races and a retro fashion show. You can even take an exclusive cruise on the Thames with hosts including Charlie Dark, Maxwell Hutchinson, David Starkey, and the creators of Rastamouse. Watch out, too, for the festival’s River Parade, a flotilla of over 100 boats with live music.

The Thames Festival has also teamed up with Barclaycard and the river operators to offer fantastic 2-for-1 deals on river transport for the whole month of September.

To take advantage of this fantastic offer just click the blue 2-for-1 roundel on www.thamesfestival.org and you'll be taken to a page where you can download your voucher.

More details can be found on the Thames Festival website, and you can also follow the Festival on Facebook and Twitter.

Last Updated 07 September 2011