The European Commission's Representation to the UK is proud to support the 2008 Exhibition Road Music Day, a unique free festival of live music from around the globe, as part of the celebration of the year of Intercultural Dialogue (ICD). On Saturday 21 June Exhibition Road, London’s premier cultural quarter, will be alive with sound and closed to traffic to stage over 150 free live musical performances between 10am and midnight. Highlights include the legendary duo Amadou & Mariam, German electro punk act MIA, a magic mix of funk, jazz, hip-hop and gospel music by France’s Bibi Tanga et le Professeur Inlassable, English four piece Late of the Pier, British blues sensation Florence and the Machine, African drumming from 2007’s favourite Nzinga Dance, a celebration of traditional and contemporary music performed by the Ismaili Community Ensemble in collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, British experimental electronic musicians the Four Tet Djs, and a special performance by the UK’s hottest indie rock band British Sea Power at the Natural History Museum.
"London is Europe's biggest, most culturally diverse city and this day of music is a fantastic celebration of that diversity. The European Commission's office in the UK is happy to have joined with the Serpentine Gallery and the Royal Parks in providing a stage for music ranging from traditional Romanian to Greek jazz funk, and from blues and bluegrass to experimental folk with much more besides." - Reijo Kemppinen, Head of the European Commission Representation in the UK.
Nitin Sawhney continues "As Ambassador of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008, I am very pleased to see so many different artists from different backgrounds collaborating in this way. Music for me is a universal language with no regard for the cultural divisions and barriers of cynics or xenophobes. The Exhibition Road Music Day perfectly exemplifies that spirit and I look forward to an inclusive and diverse celebration of the very best in UK and global sounds.”
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