The London Green Fair to host Indian Greenathon - “Lighting a Billion Lives”

The London Green Fair on the 4th and 5th June 2011, London’s leading free green event, has teamed up with the NDTV Toyota Greenathon to help raise money to buy solar lights for the poorest villages in India. By broadcasting live to millions on Saturday night primetime, direct from the festival, as part of their 24 hour television event, New Delhi TV hope to increase the amount of money pledged from the £750,000 that was raised in the last 2 years.

The NDTV team will have an exhibition and sign-up space as part of the Children’s area, which they are generously supporting. Their space will feature interactive displays, alongside the other fantastic content planned for the festival This includes the launch of the UK Sports into Schools campaign, - a new and exciting initiative designed to divert textile waste from landfill and raise funds for schools sport facilities and equipment, organised by Wastebuster. For this, children will be in a sustainable wonderland inside Regents Park with craft and costume making, a carnival procession and a giant sculpture made from a tonne of recycled textiles.

The London Green Fair is not only for children though. The Speakers Forum, programmed by TalkAction, will present a series of workshops and debates around “Transforming London, Transforming our planet” while on Sunday will feature Ken Livingston, Jenny Jones, and Tony Juniper in a headline panel discussion.

Two days of top tunes on the main music stage at the festival will feature live bands from around the world – brought to the UK in Fair exchange as part of the Global/Local partnership, the ethical fashion tent is presenting some great workshops and fashion shows, and the London Permaculture Zone, markets, bars, pedal-powered stage, BikeFest all add up to one of the best free days out for people from all walks of life.

500 trees will be given away to visitors free, in partnership with the Land Trust, helping to offset the carbon cost of staging the event. As most of the tens of thousands of visitors travel by public transport or bike to the show, plus the fact that it is entirely powered by wind, solar, hydrogen and recycled chip-fat, this event will be the greenest festival in London, if not the UK.

Festival Manager Sinclair Eiloart said “We are delighted to be producing this great environmental event, which is growing into a unique showcase for London’s green credentials. We have some fantastic things planned to entertain and inspire the whole family, and best of all, thanks to the continued support of our partners and sponsors, the event will remain free to the public.”

Importantly the event provides a platform for many different community and campaigning groups to reach tens of thousands of people over two days, and has the backing of important players in the ecological, environmental and recycling communities including Legal and General, the Ecologist magazine, the Co-operative Membership and the London Community Resource Network.

The event is organised by dedicated volunteers, supported by a small delivery team, and is set up as a not-for-profit social enterprise. It relies on the support of many local businesses and organisations, community groups and campaigning organisations.

To find out more about the London Green Fair, visit www.londongreenfair.org.

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