The read of a lifetime! Thousands of people flock to Trafalgar Square to enjoy our great book festival in glorious sunshine

Sun shines on crowds as famous names give readings
Nigel Howard

Trafalgar Square was transformed into a book lover’s paradise as thousands of people turned out to celebrate the joy of reading.

The Get Reading festival took over the London landmark and saw celebrities giving live readings while children read along in the sun.

The crowds were treated to a host of famous faces, among them actors Hugh Grant, Rupert Everett and Warwick Davis.

Grant, wearing white jeans and a shirt, read the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. He revealed that his favourite children's book is The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

Model Lily Cole (below) delighted the crowds with a reading from Winnie the Pooh. Speaking afterwards she revealed her favourite book is Ada or Ardor by Nabokov.

Nigel Howard

She said she got involved in the festival because: "Who can dispute that kids should read?" She added that she was tempted to read from Harry Potter to the crowds because it had such an impact on her.

Families turning up to the free event, organised as part of the Evening Standard’s Get London Reading campaign, were treated to a host of literary events and performances which will continued until 5pm.

PA

The event – the first of its kind – was organised in partnership with NOOK. Jim Hilt, managing director of Barnes & Noble International, owners of NOOK, said: “We believe literacy is not just about education but also access. That’s why we’ve partnered with the Standard’s pioneering campaign. It has demonstrated a peerless commitment to tackling literacy.”

Louise Dearman from the West End show Wicked said it is vitally important for parents to read with their children. She read a poem by a nine-year old competition winner Jack McEwan in front of the audience.

Read More

One of the highlights of the day was when Joey, the horse from War Horse moved through the crowd as a section of the play was read aloud. Children and adults flocked to touch and take photographs of the striking character, and parts of the play were shown on the large screens.

Comperes Dick and Dom entertained the children with their 'two word tango' game and the face painters and ice cream sellers were kept busy.

Many parents set out picnic blankets and other families dipped their feet in the Trafalgar square fountains to keep cool.

Warwick Davis proved a big hit with the crowds.

Speaking after coming off stage he said: "Literacy is vastly important. I don't think we can place enough importance on it. We are not asking people to eat healthily which can be difficult, we are asking them to pick up a book and have some fun."

He added that he prefers factual books rather than fiction, and he now spends most of his time writing. He read from Peter Pan to the enthralled audience.

"This is a unique and interesting event. Long may it continue. It is great that the Evening Standard is doing it," Davis said.

PA

Author Kathy Lette jokingly told the crowd that she became a writer for "revenge", so she could write about past boyfriends. She embarrassed hosts Dick and Dom by trying to persuade them to wear 'budgie smugglers' because the weather was so hot.

Rapper Akala, sister of Ms Dynamite, read from Shakespeare's Richard II. He is also a member of the Hip Hop Shakespeare company.

He said: "Shakespeare was a genius but children have the capacity to understand it."

Actor Russell Tovey revealed his favourite childhood books are George's marvellous medicine and Esio Trot by Roald Dahl. Asked if he is still in the running to be the new Dr Who he said: "Don't put any bets on me."

Sun fun: Reading fans applaud the show in Trafalgar Square Picture: Alex Lentati

A specially recorded video of Malala, the brave Pakistani teenager who risked her life for books, was broadcast to the crowds, who responded with spontaneous applause. She said "Reading books is a source of learning and of changing your life. Start reading books now, they are your best friend."

The literary extravaganza was hosted by comedy duo Dick and Dom and featured children’s laureate Malorie Blackman, actor Warwick Davis and Barbara Windsor and a long list of well known guests.

The festival aimed to recruit more adults to act as mentors to children struggling to read in schools. Evgeny Lebedev, owner of the Standard and Independent newspapers, said the festival has already landed another recruit — actress Barbara Windsor, who read on stage with him.

He said: “Campaigns are an extremely important part of what newspapers are able to do. The Standard has done great things with this campaign.”

Nigel Howard

Actor David Harewood from Homeland said: "It is really important to encourage kids to read. We live in a fast paced world with lots of things competing for their attention. Something as simple as a book can unlock their imagination. It is great that the Evening Standard is behind this."

He also had "no comment" to make on rumours he could be the new Dr Who.

In the weeks leading up to the huge event, children across London were treated to a host of surprise guests to celebrate the literacy festival.

Pupils at Christ Church C of E Primary school in Brick Lane were left screaming with laughter after comedian Harry Enfield turned up to read from George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl.

Stephen Fry delighted pupils at Brixton’s Jubilee Primary School with a reading from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Boris Johnson and Mr Lebedev visited St Mary’s primary in Battersea – the school at the heart of our literacy campaign.

Niamh Cusack, the teacher in the National Theatre’s award winning adaptation of Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, also supported the event.

Stage show: Fans watch a dance routine Picture: Alex Lentati
Alex Lentati
Alex Lentati

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in