Blog latest

Donate £1 to help bring back Rise festival

Thursday, 11 March 2010 12:34

Visit www.uprise.org.uk to donate

UpRise is the legacy of the Rise Festival, an event held annually in London’s Finsbury Park and Europe’s largest anti-racism festival, until the Mayor of London cancelled the event in April 2009.  Since the cancellation, the UpRise team have been working to achieve its mission to provide a free music, arts and culture festival; organised by the people and for the people, ensuring that the essence of the historic Rise Festival is kept intact.

Festival organisers and Finsbury Park residents Freya van Lessen and Mike Barnard are asking members of the public to help in their efforts to raise £100,000 by the end of March, vital to help fund an UpRise event this summer.

Speaking about the fundraising drive, Mike Barnard said: “We are passionate about keeping the memory of Rise alive through UpRise and we know that thousands of Londoners feel the same way. Although we are asking for a lot of money, if each of the 100,000 people who attended Rise Festival in 2008 donated just £1, we would reach our target."

Mike added: "With the Mayor of London slashing funding for a series of  cultural events and a rise in publicity for far-right views, UpRise aims to display the true picture of London, which is that of a united, vibrant and diverse leading capital city. We want the festival to once again be a landmark event in London’s calendar, as it was for the 14 years prior to its cancellation."

Speaking about his love of Rise Festival and echoing the views of thousands of Londoners who support UpRise, Beardyman, who has performed at Rise Festival said: “Bring back Rise, London really needs it, and the world needs more festivals like it!”

Support has been secured from a number of organisations that were previously involved in Rise, including the Trades Union Congress, who set up the original Rise Festival in 1996. However, the more funds that are raised, the bigger the scale of the event.

Donations for UpRise can be made by visiting www.uprise.org.uk.