Rio comes to LONDON!

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 For forthcoming events visit  www.greatbritishcarnival.co.uk  or find on facebook 

Great British CARNIVAL at Thames Festival 

7th SEPTEMBER 2013
Bernie Spain Gardens, South Bank, London, UK

South Bank was AWASH!
 
Not with rain, but the cascading tinkle of LATIN rhythms!

CARNIVAL time! Colourful costumes, warm smiles and figures writhing as far as the eye could see …
 
CAPTIVATED by the insistent beat of a samba ensemble!
Map picture
Swaying to the bodacious beats of CROYDON STEEL ORCHESTRA, RHYTHM OF THE CITY & PARAISO, the best cure for stagnant feet!

Toss in a CAIPIRINHA and one could almost be shaking away the wee hours under the arches of LAPA in Rio D!

Arriving in the mid-afternoon, I first wandered past the SKATERS in the undercroft of Southbank Centre in search of Bernie Spain Gardens.
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Along the way I found someone had stumbled upon an alternative use for this statue!

As I drew nearer, festive gaiety became more evident ... and soon enough I was bustling with the crowds by centre stage!

 

Orchestra Bombo

The first band I saw had some lush horns! From the back of the dancing throng I tried to peer above the crowd to catch a glimpse of … Orchestra Bombo!
 
 
Pics of Orchestra Bombo …
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Croydon Steel Orchestra!    

Next up was a full steel band, Croydon Steel Orchestra, with young faces full of enthusiasm, a delight to see!

Here is their inspired version of Billie Jean!

 

 

 

Pics of Croydon Steel Orchestra

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And then it was time for sunset …

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Rhythm of the City

Once the sun had departed, Rhythm of the City marched onto stage and drove the intensity up even further! Here is an amazing rendition of Fela Kuti's Zombie (you can probably hear me singing along as it is one of my favourite songs!)

 



The sound was so inspiring a guest dancer couldn’t help jumping on-stage to join in!


 

Pics of ROTC …

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Paraiso

One could already feel replete from the heady musical smorgasbord already sampled ... but more was to come!
Paraiso took stage and started proceedings with some amazing snare improvisation!

 

 

Pics of Paraiso

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Double Decibel Finale!

Could it get any better?

Well, it definitely got even louder as Rhythm of the City returned on-stage to join Paraiso and double the decibels!

A fitting finale to a magnificent evening!

Well done to the performers for giving us a splendid taste of Carnival ... and to Great British Carnival for bringing Rio to London!

 
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