Rise was a free anti-racism music festival held in London, England, from 1996 to 2008. Originally organised as an anti-racism festival by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), it was revived as such by the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. [1] In June 2008, the Greater London Authority, under newly elected mayor Boris Johnson, removed the anti-racist message of the festival. [2] Subsequently, the trade unions UNISON and Unite the Union withdrew their festival funding, [3] [4] and Johnson cancelled the festival in April 2009, blaming lack of sponsorship. [5]
When, in 1996, the festival was set up, [1] it was originally called "Respect". While primarily a music festival, it also worked to encourage trade unions, voluntary groups, charities and community organisations to highlight their work and ideas concerning equality and the promotion of anti-racism.[ citation needed ]
The original event took part in Finsbury Park and featured artists Chumbawamba, Fun-Da-Mental, Asian Dub Foundation and Incognito. In 1997, the featured musicians were Luciano, Audioweb, the Fun Lovin' Criminals and Dreadzone and the event took place in Victoria Park, Hackney.
There was no event between 1998 and 2000, but in May 2000 Ken Livingstone was elected mayor with a manifesto pledge to organise that the anti-racist festival become a yearly event.[ citation needed ]
The first festival, dubbed "Respect", under Livingstone's tenure, took place in 2001 and attracted around 60,000 people. Since then attendances have been reached around 100,000. [6] After the launch of the political party also called Respect, the festival changed its name to Rise for 2005. After the 7 July 2005 London bombings it was renamed London United, but changed back to just Rise in 2008.[ citation needed ]
The 2008 festival saw headliner Jimmy Cliff cut off during his set when it overran past the 8:30 pm curfew time, with the sound system switched off halfway through a performance of "Rivers of Babylon", causing him and the band to leave the stage in silence. [7]
In 2010, Rise was given new life as a people's festival named UpRise with the venue again in Finsbury Park, supported by unions such as SERTUC, UNISON, NUT and Unite the Union among others. [8]
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
Victoria Park is a park in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England.
Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) is a music-oriented antiracism campaign based in Britain. The campaign aims to bring people together and promote unity through the power of music. LMHR was born in the tradition of the Rock Against Racism (RAR) movement of the late 1970s. The campaign held many successful festivals in the early 2000s such as a Victoria Park carnival and at Stoke Britannia Stadium, at which tens of thousands of people attended and international artists performed.
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Rock Against Racism (RAR) was a political and cultural movement which emerged in 1976 in reaction to a rise in racist attacks on the streets of the United Kingdom and increasing support for the far-right National Front at the ballot box. Between 1976 and 1982 RAR activists organised national carnivals and tours, as well as local gigs and clubs throughout the country. RAR brought together black and white fans in their common love of music, in order to discourage young people from embracing racism. The musicians came from all pop music genres, something reflected in one of RAR's slogans: "Reggae, soul, rock'n'roll, jazz, funk and punk". The movement was founded, in part, as a response to racist statements by rock musicians such as Eric Clapton and David Bowie.
The 2017 Finsbury Park attack was a terror-attack in Finsbury Park, London, England, on 19 June 2017. A van was driven into pedestrians in Finsbury Park, London, by Darren Osborne, causing one death and injuring at least nine people. This occurred near the Muslim Welfare House, 100 yards (90 m) from Finsbury Park Mosque.
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