Totally Thames 2017: Five highlights of this year's river festival

The annual festival is set to once again make a splash this September
High-speed sight seeing: Totally Thames Blast
David Ellis @dvh_ellis31 August 2017

The month long Totally Thames festival has returned, boasting 30 days of river-centric celebrations.

The event – once known at The Mayor's Thames Festival – is set to attract more than two million Londoners to the city's 42-mile stretch of water, between September 1 – 30. This year there’ll be everything from live classical music to a wild swim around an island in Chiswick.

Mayor Sadiq Khan supported the festival, saying: “This celebrates one of our city’s major assets, bringing its history to life through a fantastic variety of free activities. From learning about environmental issues facing the river to hearing about those who live on it, there’s something for everyone to get involved in.”

Below are five highlights of this year’s festivities.

Future Dust

Across London, Sep 1 – 30, More info

Artist Maria Arceo’s Future Dust tackles the problem of plastic pollution in the world’s waters, which is growing at an alarming rate: by 2050, it’s thought there’ll be more plastic than fish in the ocean, by weight. Arceo, who has collected plastic from forty beaches along the tidal Thames and built them into an artwork, which will be illuminated by interactive light artist Tim Scheffer.

Totally Thames Blast

St Katharine's Way, E1W 1LP, Sept 1 – 3, 8 – 10, 15 - 17, 22 - 24, More info

This is not your leisurely river cruise. Rather, you’ll step aboard the aptly named Rocket, which packs 615 horsepower, and race along the Thames at 30 knots which music blasting. You’ll also go past the sights... just don't expect to see them for long.

Epic waterway marathon: the Great River Race

The Great River Race

Millwall Slipway, Westferry Road, E14 3QS, Sat Sept 9, More info

Don't miss this: it's an epic waterway marathon, featuring more than 300 traditional boats, which battle it out from Millwall to Ham. Still, though there's plenty of stiff competition, there'll be lots of fun and fancy dress too.

Foreshore Walks

Bankside, Fulham, Bermondsey, Gabriel’s Walk, Hammersmith, Sept 3, 10, 17, 23, 24, More info

Catch up with the Thames experts for a morning, who'll be sharing their pearls of wisdom about all the archaeology and history of the river, wherever you really choose. Each promises to be a fascinating walk, and it'll make a change from Netflix.

Have a listen: the Bascule Chamber concerts return for 2017
Steve Stills

Bascule Chamber Concerts

South Bascule Chamber, Tower Bridge, SE1 2UP, Sept 22 – 24, More info

Composer Iain Chambers returns with the rather impressive Bascule Chamber Concerts inside the bowels Tower Bridge, to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of Handel’s Water Music. These popular concerts are unlike any other in London, if only for their dramatic setting.

For more information, visit totallythames.org

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