Celebration of St George's Day

Borough Market, 8 Southwark Street, London
Celebration of St George's Day image
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Event has ended
This event ended on Sunday 26th of April 2015
Admission
Free
Venue Information
Borough Market
8 Southwark Street, SE1 1TL
Nearest Tube/Rail Stations
London Bridge 0.15 miles

As you may know, Sant Jordi / St. George’s Day is celebrated both in England and Catalonia. In recognition of this, the Catalan Government and the Catalan community in London team up again with Borough Market to celebrate this multicultural festivity. The day will bring together the best Catalan and English food in a celebration including music, theatre, dance and storytelling for children.

The romantic Catalan custom of exchanging roses and books with their beloved ones will be one of the attractions of the event. Traditionally, men offered roses to women and women gave them books as gifts. Nowadays, both men and women exchange books and roses. This ritual has become so popular that 7 million roses and 1.6 million books were sold in Catalonia last year on St Jordi's Day.

The Catalan way to celebrate Saint George’s Day inspired the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1995 when it adopted the 23rd of April as World Book and Copyright Day. 23rd April also marks the anniversary of the deaths of Shakespeare and Cervantes.

Books could not be missed at this festivity! Newham Bookshop and Institut Ramon Llull will bring a book stall to the market, including some of the most important English translations of Catalan literature. Roses, traditionally decorated with a spike of wheat, will also be available at the stand of Catalans UK. In parallel, there will be a rich cultural programme, with the support of ICEC/Creative Catalonia and the Catalan community in the United Kingdom: you’ll get a taste of sardanes dancers -a circle dance typical of Catalonia- and performances by the Orfeó Català -the most historic Catalan choir-, the Catalan theatre company Bots & Barrals and the Catalan actress-singer Laia Martinez, who will tell the story of St. George and the dragon to the youngest visitors.

In addition to the Sant Jordi’s celebration, the Orfeó Català will also perform at two prominent stages in London: on Saturday 25 April they will participate in the Royal Festival Hall, while on the following day they will sing at the Cadogan Hall before heading to Borough Market. This is a unique opportunity to see the most iconic Catalan choir performing in the UK. Save the dates!

That weekend, London will also receive the visit of other Catalan artists. On the one side, the pop-rock band Mishima will present their last album "L'Ànsia que cura" at Scala on Saturday 25 April. Don't miss the chance to see this internationally renowned band that comes back to the UK after their successful performances at The Great Escape and Liverpool Sound City. On the other side, Kamchatka will present its experimental interactive theatre at Bell Square, also on 25 April.

Tags: Festival

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