Skylarking acrobats kick off City of London Festival from a rooftop garden
Acrobatics in the Sky Garden in City Festival's newest venue at 20 Fenchurch St, near Aldgate - Credit: City of London Festival
Acrobats have been skylarking in a rooftop garden high above the streets testing their high wire antics to promote this year’s City of London Festival which opens on Monday.
The 53rd annual ‘culture bash’ runs till July 10 with concerts, dance, jazz, open debates, choral singing and street performances.
‘Jazz with a view’ is performed in the Sky Garden—now the high wire is down—in the newest venue for the festival, topping the latest skyscraper on the block at 20 Fenchurch Street.
Jeremy Monteiro takes the Sky Garden stage on Tuesday (June 23), followed by Norma Winstone next Friday (26), Anita Wardell (July 5) and Arve Henriksen (July 7).
Pianos and guitars are being set up on the streets below for any passer-by who fancies tickling the ivories or plucking the strings.
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“We’re busting the myth that the Square Mile simply serves the financial and professional services industries,” Lord Mayor Alan Yarrow insists. “The rich diversity of our cultural landscape and identity is the open secret of the City’s success, attracting the best and the brightest from all over.”
Orchestral concerts in the magnificent setting of St Paul’s Cathedral include the London Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Haydn’s Creation next Wednesday (24) and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with Monteverdi’s Vespers (July 2).
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The first ever Wren ‘choral marathon’ is next Saturday (27) when 17 different performances are staged in each of Wren’s magnificent City churches.
Sir Alan Sugar’s TV sidekick from The Apprentice, Nick Hewer, narrates the 1960s’ musical satire about corporate life and office politics, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (July 9) at The Guildhall, the City corporation’s ancient seat of office.
But there’s no shying away from controversy during the festival, with public debates on the events calendar.
Whether judges have too much power is the hot topic this Tuesday (23), in the Judges’ Room at the Old Bailey, of all places!
Another on whether the big City banks are heading us all for another melt-down is at the Bishopsgate Institute the following week (30).
