Mayor's Thames Festival

The Mayor's Thames Festival takes place in September each year celebrating the main waterway which winds its way through the heart of the city. This year the festival is taking place on the closing weekend of the London 2012 Games; so expect big crowds and a euphoric atmosphere. There's a carnival ambience to the two-day festival with street entertainment, art installations, music and dancing all performed at various riverside locations between Westminster Bridge, Tower Bridge and beyond. All this fun entertainment is free and, for the grand finale, there's a colourful night procession featuring costumed performers with tambourines and whistles travelling along Victoria Embankment and via Blackfriars Bridge, culminating in a massive free fireworks display. The festival ends with a spectacular bang as more than a ton of pyrotechnics explode over the River Thames in just ten minutes. Large crowds line up along the river for the fireworks display but with the stretch from the two barges between Blackfriars and Waterloo Bridge spanning almost half a kilometre, there's plenty of opportunity to find a space.