Rise Festival - Not in 2009

Rise Festival has been London's free annual anti-racism festival, but unfortunately has been unable to secure a major sponsor, so will not be happening in 2009. The Mayor of London's office is right to say "is not considered appropriate to spend such a large amount of money on a single music event, particularly during a recession," as the Rise Festival costs over £500,000 to deliver.

Instead, some of the money will be used to fund a multitude of events and grassroots activities across London. The Mayor hopes to energize the local music scene across the capital, and feed into a longer-term strategy to get young people more involved in making and listening to music. One of the projects that will be supported is Rhythm of London; two days of music events and activities being developed as part of the Mayor's drive to increase musical opportunities and education for all young Londoners on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 July 2009.

• Rise Festival Photos
• Rise Festival Review 2006
• July Annual Events & Weather Guide

Image: © Laura Porter | London Travel Blog | Follow AboutLondon on Twitter