Mayday mayday - unite rally + march with speakers and free music in trafalgar square - sunday 1 may
SUNDAY 1 MAY - 1pm to 7pm - TRAFALGAR SQUARE CENTRAL LONDON **FREE!**
TRAFALGAR SQUARE MAY DAY RALLY TO BE ENTERTAINED BY TOP MUSIC STARS AND CAMPAIGNERS AGAINST THE BNP
Award winning r?n?b star ESTELLE will share the stage at Trafalgar Square with Babyshambles rocker PETE DOHERTY to drive home a ?Use Your Vote ? Stop the BNP? message on the eve of the general election.
Speakers on the day include TONY BENN as well as London Mayor and Unite Against Fascism chair KEN LIVINGSTONE, Muslim Council of Britain, TUC, Weyman Bennett & Sabby Dhalu (Unite) plus many more.
A host of top music stars, including special surprise appearances, will be in Trafalgar Square to greet London?s May Day marchers on Sunday 1st May. They will perform in between speeches from campaigners.
The music features top and up-and-coming artists ? all eager to put across an important anti-racist message of unity just days before the May 5 general election.
Joining this year?s superstars ESTELLE and PETE DOHERTY will be MOBO nominated soul singer TERRI WALKER, rising star LADY SOVEREIGN, hotly-tipped indie rockers and LMHR stalwarts METRO RIOTS, smart east London MC and Streets collaborator KANO and leading East London grime/r&b crew ROLL DEEP along with many others, including WILEY, SKITZ & RODNEY P, MC D, SKEME & BIG P, THE UNPEOPLE and BIGGA FISH. Helping out on stage will be top Radio 1 and 1Xtra DJ RAS KWAME.
Don?t be surprised if special guest stars from the top of the music profession also take the stage to urge the crowd to ?Use Your Vote, Stop the British National Party?. All the artists ?performing short sets ? will warn against giving the BNP a clear run in the elections.
The BNP has announced that it is standing 112 candidates in the general election. The BNP is a fascist organisation, not a legitimate political party, with explicitly racist polices. If the BNP had its way, none of the stars ? representing the best of Britain?s young black and white talent, would be allowed to perform ever again.
Estelle says: “It’s important for me to take part in this event because if the BNP had their say I wouldn’t be here making music. And neither would thousands of other music artists. In fact the whole landscape of the music industry in the UK would be entirely different if they got in power. It goes without saying that black and asian people in the UK contribute a huge amount not only to British music but to British culture in general. Its obvious to us, but we need to keep putting that message across, especially these days where immigration is such a big political issue.”
Pete Doherty says: “I don’t think you have to be a particularly developed human being intellectually or spiritually to despise racism. It may be easy to be complacent, but we need to encourage people to fight racism whether with words or actions. Count me in”.
Details: UNITE/MAYDAY MARCH & RALLY: TRAFALGAR SQUARE, SUNDAY MAY 1st
Organised by UAF, LMHR and London MayDay Organising Committee. Kindly supported by UNISON London Region, T&GWU Region 1, GMB London Region.
12noon-7pm. FREE.
For those who wish to join the traditional MayDay march, assemble at 12 at Clerkenwell Green. March expected to arrive in the Square around 2.15pm.
Press Contacts:
Unite Against Fascism music press: Hassan Mahamdallie 07958 547 050
Unite Against Fascism: Weyman Bennett or Sabby Dhalu 020 7833 4916
