London's first ever East End festival

The spirit of Hackney came to life last week during London’s first ever East End festival. Jane Fulcher and Laura Crowley went along.

The weeklong celebration, laid on by Mayor Ken Livingstone, celebrated the diverse culture that saturates the area.
Spitalfields Market hosted a food fair where people enjoyed aromatic rice and spicy curries out of plastic trays, while listening to Bollywood music. On stage, a traditional East End butcher demonstrated how to dismember a lamb carcass, while a barman pushed glasses of champagne mixed with raspberry coulis into the hands of merry shoppers.
Local cafes provided tangy chutneys, paella, pies, fresh bread, sweet jams, and exotic treats for people to sample. One stall was stacked a metre high with delectable chocolate brownies.
The crowds, filled with high spirits, good food and good champagne, danced in the streets to the music of the live Bollywood Brass Band. Traditional Indian drummers led the band of trumpets, trombones and saxophones, while the dancing was initiated by two men dressed as Elvis and an old woman dressed entirely in multicoloured sequins.
This was just one part of a festival that stretched across London’s diverse East End, encompassing every community. Over 400 events took place in museums, theatres, cafes, cinemas, streets, alleys, churches and mosques. What made this festival to special was its “come one, come all” attitude.
The festival was an overwhelming success. Mark Prescott, head of cultural campaigns for the Greater London Assembly, said: “We have had amazing feedback from the organisations and individuals who were involved. One of the main reasons we did it was to get people in the area to enjoy living here and put them in touch with the fact that it really is a cultural area.”
The packed venues and happy crowds suggest that people were proud to ignore Hackney’s bad press and celebrate the East End’s rich history and varied culture.