- Whole of Trafalgar Square to be covered in grass for first time
- Event kicks off campaign to promote “Village London”
Visit London will be kicking off its “Village London” campaign by covering Trafalgar Square with grass for the first time ever.
On 24-25 May 2,000 square feet of green turf will cover the square, transforming one of London’s most iconic attractions into “London’s village green”.
Although one of the world’s leading global cities, London can also claim to be a diverse collection of villages and one of the greenest capitals in the world.
Visit London’s Chief Executive, James Bidwell, said:
“From the rural feel of areas like Bexley Village and Wimbledon, to urban villages like Marylebone and even Canary Wharf, the campaign will help everyone discover Village London”.
During the two-day event people will be able to take advantage of the green space to have a picnic or just soak up the atmosphere and relax in a deck chair.
After the event the turf, which will come from a sustainable source in the Vale of York, will be transferred to Bishops Park in Hammersmith and Fulham, where it will be planted beneath an avenue of majestic plane trees close to the River Thames and Fulham Palace.
Global Cool, the celebrity backed climate change campaign, will be working with Visit London to make the Trafalgar Square village green carbon neutral. Global Cool will advise Visit London on how to reduce the event’s carbon footprint before offsetting any remaining emissions.
A new section on Visit London’s website at visitlondon.com/villages will be dedicated to London’s villages. Visit London will also be producing 500,000 printed guides in association with Time Out. These will be distributed with Time Out and the Evening Standard as well as in Tourist Information Centres and through face-to-face distribution. There will also be outdoor advertising in London and South East England.
ENDS
For more information contact Hannah Collingbourne,
Visit London Press Office.
Tel: 020 7234 5843
Email: hcollingbourne@visitlondon.com
Notes for Editors:
- The turf will be sourced from Lindum in the Vale of York, an area that has a light blow away sandy soil. This is a difficult soil type to manage as traditional farming techniques often result in substantial wind erosion. Growing a turf crop stabilises the soil by the tremendous root biomass built up - some of the varieties grown root up to 1.5 metres deep. The way in which the turf is grown results in the harvesting of a vegetative mat of roots and leafy plant with very little soil attached. One of the main fertilisers is an organic material from recycled waste from Yorkshire Water. Lindum is a business with a very high regard for the environment – there are substantial areas of woodland on the production farm and field margins are left untouched to allow birds and insects to flourish.
- Visit London is the official visitor organisation for London. Our role is to promote London as the most exciting city on the planet, targeting domestic and overseas leisure and business visitors as well as Londoners. Visit London works in partnership with the Mayor, the London Development Agency and the tourism industry in London.
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