Keep up to date with our blogs, they tell you exactly what will be going on with descriptions and full listings, times and places. Make sure you have seen them all, there are so many events and sites that our blogs will soon be topping up! So click on 'older' to view everything
We will be updating our blogs, programme, events and entertainment soon, bookings and arrangements are being made and we are super busy in the office trying to bring you the very best variety we can, so be patient and keep checking our profile
Here are some of the events we will be bringing you this year
Fire Garden
Tate Modern Forecourt
Saturday & Sunday, 7pm to 10pm
French fire alchemists Compagnie Carabosse create a fire garden outside Tate Modern with animated fire machines, garlands of flamepots, boilers that belch flame and glorious structures laced with fire.
Feast on the Bridge
Southwark Bridge
Saturday, 12 noon to 10pm
Southwark Bridge is transformed into a harvest feasting environment with banqueting tables and the chance to sample some of the UK’s best sustainable food producers. Curated by Clare Patey
Night Procession
Victoria Embankment & Blackfriars Bridge
Sunday, starts at 7.15pm
Spectacular procession of dancers, musicians and masqueraders with amazing lanterns, illuminated costumes and fantastic structures
The Freerun Zone
Jubilee Gardens
Saturday & Sunday, 12 noon to 10pm
Some of the best parkour and freerunning athletes perform on a purpose-built rig. There is street dance and live music from Pete Box
Fireworks
River Thames between Waterloo & Blackfriars Bridges
Sunday, 9.45pm
Major mid-river commission fired between Waterloo & Blackfriars Bridges.
Rivers of the World
the.gallery@oxo and the riverside walkway
17 August to 13 September
64 river-inspired artworks created by young people from London, Paris (France), Kolkata (India), Shanghai (China), Recife & Sao Paolo (Brazil), Veracruz (Mexico) and Szentendre (Hungary) are exhibited in the.gallery@oxo and on outdoor panels along the riverside walkway
The Hive
The riverside walkway by Gabriel’s Wharf
8 to 11 September
A sculpture made via art workshops in 150 London primary schools. There are hands-on workshops for children on Bernie Spain Gardens
Tides and Times
Somerset House, Royal Festival Hall & Southwark Cathedral
Dates tbc
River-inspired, multi-media work by 20 primary schools is shown in three BBC/RIBA audio visual pods designed by cutting-edge architectural practices
Cable Street
Foreshore by Gabriel’s Wharf
Saturday and Sunday, times TBC
Public artists paint a 40’ barge on the Thames foreshore
Firing on the Foreshore
Foreshore by The Globe Theatre
Saturday, times TBC
Pots made from Thames clay are fired in a bonfire on the Thames beach
Blue Ribbon Village
Potters Fields Park
Saturday & Sunday, 12 noon to 7pm
A river and environmental zone on Potters Fields Park with loads of free exciting activities for children.
Thames Classic
St Katherine Docks
Saturday & Sunday, 12 noon to 10pm
See classic yachts up close and meet their crews at St Katherine’s Dock
Thames Festival River Pageant
The Queen Elizabeth II Pier to Pimlico and back
Saturday, 1.30pm to 3.30pm
A flotilla of working boats, both old and new. With commentary on the riverside walkway by Tower Bridge
The Steve Faldo Memorial Barge-Driving Race
For New-comers
Sunday, 1pm to 1.45pm from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge
For Old-timers, Sunday, 4.30pm to 5.15pm from Tower Bridge to Westminster Bridge
40’ barges are raced by teams of three skilled oarsmen. With commentary on Millennium Bridge
Cutter Races
Women’s race: Sunday, 2pm to 2.30pm from Westminster Boating Base to Millennium Bridge
Men’s race: Sunday, 3.30pm to 4pm from Westminster Boating Base to Millennium Bridge
Highly prized historic vessels in fixed-seat rowing race. With commentary on Millennium Bridge
River Clear Up
Foreshore by Gabriel’s Wharf
Saturday, times TBC
Help river environmental group Thames21 clean the Thames beach
Flood Tide by John Eacott
London Bridge City Pier
Saturday, 1.30pm to 4.30pm
A sensor placed in the Thames reads the river’s tidal movements which are converted into musical notation and played live by an ensemble of 24 musicians. The piece lasts 3 hours, going from low tide to when the river flows fastest.
Kids’ Choir
The Scoop at More London
Sunday, 1pm to 1.45pm
50 primary schools take part in this unique children’s singing project which culminates in a one-off performance by a choir of 750 children
Sing for Water
The Scoop at More London
Sunday, 2.30pm to 3.15pm
Choirs from all over the UK send representatives to this amazing 1,000-voice choir in The Scoop at More London.
Piccadilly Revisited
East Facing Façade of Royal Festival Hall
Saturday, 8.30pm to 10pm
Live musicians perform a new score to accompany the 1929 British silent film Piccadilly. The movie stars Anna May Wong, Hollywood's first-ever Chinese film star
La Roue de la Mort: La Trilogie du Temps
National Theatre Square
Saturday at 1pm, 6.30pm and 10pm
Sunday at 2pm, 5.30pm and 8pm
Jaw-dropping ‘wheel of death’ circus stunts by Les Studios de Cirque de Marseille directed by Pierrot Bidon (Archaos) as part of the National Theatre’s Watch this Space programme
The Big Swing
Potters Fields Park
Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon to 9.30pm
Dust off your dancing shoes and swing, jive and lindy-hop on the Thames Festival’s Al Fresco Ballroom.
Saturday: London Swing Dance Society, Slammers Maximum Jive Band, Burlesque Girls, Big Mamma's Door, Don Valentino, Cabaret Fire Show, Mike Sanchez and His Band. With DJs El Nino and Lady Kamikaze. The MC is Ivy Paige.
Sunday: Maddy's Jiving School, The Rock n' Roll Society, Burlesque Girls, Josephine Shaker, Gracie and the G-Spots, Cabaret Fire Show and Big Boy Bloater. With DJs El Nino and Lady Kamikaze. The MC is Ivy Paige.
F-IRE Jazz
Hibernia Wharf
Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon to 9.30pm
Cutting edge riverside jazz programmed by the F-IRE Collective
New European Village
Jubilee Gardens
Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon to 9.30pm
Music and crafts from New Europe.
Saturday: London Latvian Dance Group, Dudalnieki (Latvia), Alina Orlova (Lithuania), Trad folk (Hungary)
Czech Rep Grp, Perunika (Bulgaria), Sevingül Bahadir & Cihan Okan & Jülide Karan (Turkey), Destroyers (UK), Ada Milea (Romania), Village Kollektiv (Poland).
Sunday: Polish children group, Dudalnieki (Latvia), Czech Rep Grp, Lithuanian Grp tbc, Hungarian Grp tbc, Perunika (Bulgaria), Sevingül Bahadir & Cihan Okan & Jülide Karan (Turkey), Group tbc, Group tbc, Ada Milea (Romania) and Village Kollektiv
Music
Thanks to all for the great music and performances we had last year, you were all spectacular
Here are the acts on this year's Jive stage
Saturday
London Swing Dance Society
The Slammers Maximum Jive Band
Big Mamma's Door
Lady Kamikaze (DJ)
Don Valentino
Burlesque Girls
The Baron & Missy's Misadventures
El Nino (DJ)
Mike Sanchez and His Band
El Nino (DJ)
Burlesque Girls
Sunday
Maddy's Jiving School
The Rock 'n' Roll Society
Josephine Shaker
Lady Kamikaze (DJ)
Gracie and the G-Spots
Burlesque Girls
The Baron & Missy's Misadventures
El Nino (DJ)
Big Boy Bloater
Burlesque Girls
Have a look at the Jive Stage blog for the timetable
Movies
CBBC me and my movie in association with BAFTA (bbc.co.uk/cbbc/meandmymovie)
winning shorts from the Festival’s river Thames-themed short film competition...
Television
BBC
CBBC
Heroes
“The Thames Festival has become a real highlight in London’s cultural calendar” Ken Livingstone
“London’s biggest end-of-summer party” Evening Standard
“As a contender for London’s best annual event, the Mayor’s Thames Festival is right up there” Time Out Magazine
A “totally multicultural and all-embracing celebration of London … a spectacular and hugely enjoyable event” Visit London
The Thames Festival is a spectacular, free celebration of London and its river. The festival brings hundreds of thousands of people together in the very heart of the capital to dance on the embankments; feast on the bridge; immerse themselves in river-inspired art, installations, music and performance; see movies projected onto riverside buildings; drink and eat by the river; explore the Thames and its environment; play on the beach; row, cruise and sail on the river and much, much more.
Adrian Evans, Festival Director
We inspire people to take part in the festival, to work with different communities, meet their neighbours, learn about and enjoy difference and respect our fellow citizens. We work in 33 London boroughs, reaching 10,000 young people, 242 schools and 100 community groups from March to September. In 2007, 775,000 people enjoyed the festival over the weekend.
We promote and animate public spaces, such as the South Bank, Bankside and the London Bridge area, encouraging a fresh look at our developing riverside environments on both sides of the River Thames.
Photo competition
Capture the spirit of the Thames Festival. The four categories are Music, Spectacle, Family and River, with a special prize for photos that capture events against the backdrop of the many iconic London landmarks on the Festival site. Deadline for entries: Tuesday 30 September
For more information please visit our website http://www.thamesfestival.org/
We also make artistic, cultural and educational connections with rivers around the world.
This creative visual art and design project aims to link young people around the world through a common theme: their river. Teenagers from the UK Brazil, Mexico, France, Hungary, India and China study their respective rivers and create magnificent artworks which will be displayed all along the Festival site.
The festival is a key highlight in London’s cultural life. We believe there is something for eveyone here and we invite you to help us grow, educate, inspire and entertain.
Make sure you have a peep at the photos from last year in our albums - here are a few of the best...
Who I'd like to meet:
International festivals and schools overseas. This year we have links with Brazil, Mexico, France, Hungary, India, China, exciting stuff
Hello There!!! Thanks so much for the add!!! Have you had a chance to listen to our music? If you like what you hear please check out our Alternative-Electro-Soul band Fishhawk at myspace.com/fishhawkinthesky
Hey there Thames Festival! Our new LP just got a rather spiffing 5 Star review we thought we would be cheeky and share with you! Looking forward to playing for you again x
Hello, just noticed from your wonderful line-up that mine, Dj El Nino & Dj Lady kamikaze's names are missing. please ammend - look forward to playing this festival, last year was excellent. Cheers, Dj Count Sizzle
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