Music festival falls victim to lack of funds

AN anti-racism music festival has been cancelled by Boris Johnson because of a lack of sponsorship.

The Mayor will instead use the money from the Greater London Authority for a capital-wide event called Rhythm of London focusing on music education on 10-11 July.

Last year Mr Johnson caused an outcry when he removed the anti-racism message from promotional material for the Rise Festival and instead used the words "celebrating diversity".

The main sponsors, trade unions Unison and Unite the Union, withdrew their funding leaving City Hall to pay the £551,000 to stage the event in Finsbury Park.

Now the festival, which last year attracted 100,000 people, will not go ahead.

A spokesman for the Mayor said: "Without a major sponsor in place it is not considered appropriate to spend such a large amount on a single music event, particularly during a recession. Instead, the money will be used to fund a multitude of events and grassroots activities across London."