Boris cancels Rise festival

Wednesday, 8 April 2009 4:50 PM

By politics.co.uk staff

London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced he will scrap Rise, the anti-racist festival, due to a lack of sponsors.

He will instead stage a two-day event called "Rhythm for London" which will focus on trying to get youngsters across the capital involved with and making music.

The union Unite - who along with Unison were the show's main sponsors- claimed they had not even been approached about the event this year and urged the mayor to reconsider his decision.

The mayor caused a row in 2008 when he announced the anti-racism message would be removed from promotional material as he wished to "emphasise its cultural and community dimensions".

This move outraged sponsors who withdrew their funding and left City Hall with the £551,000 bill for the event in Finsbury Park.

"Without a major sponsor in place it is not considered appropriate to spend such a large amount on a single music event, particularly during a recession," said a City Hall spokesman.

"Instead, the money will be used to fund a multitude of events and grassroots activities across London."

Rise was initially set up in 1996 in conjunction with the Trades Union Congress and consistently attracted crowds of up 100,000 people, becoming the largest anti-racism festival in Europe.

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