Petition calls for festival to Rise again (From Haringey Independent)

Petition calls for festival to Rise again

7:00am Friday 15th May 2009 in

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CAMPAIGNERS will hand over a petition to the deputy chair of the London Assembly calling for the reinstatement of the Rise Festival today.

The petition has attracted more than 1,600 signatures urging Mayor of London Boris Johnson to resurrect Europe's largest anti-racism festival.

The UpRise campaign has attracted considerable support since the cancellation of the festival by Mr Johnson.

The festival was set up in 1996 in the wake of Stephen Lawrence's murder.

It has attracted crowds of up to 100,000 as well as big-name peformers like Jimmy Cliff, Run DMC, The Wailers and The Specials.

But in April Mr Johnson announced the festival would not go ahead because of a lack of sponsorship.

The music celebration costs £551,000 which was not prudent spending in a recession, Mr Johnson said.