samba
venus
t-shirts
"love"
kids
couple
circle 1
circle 2
bubbles
heart
crafts
music
negotiation with council
eros
venus announced the main aim of the celebration, to recognise love as the most important power on the planet. after ten years of organising these annual antidotes to capitalist valentine's day, she told the crowd she'd be elsewhere next year, but many people vowed to return and hold an event without her next time, joining in the increasing number of parallel festivals around the world.
after the customary hand-out of beautifully designed t-shirts, venus once again persuaded the crowd along with many curious tourists and passers-by, to form a huge ring around the fountain, and synchronously with other circles all around the planet, hold hands and chant the words "may all the beings in all the worlds be happy and at peace".
a magic descended on piccadilly circus, and once again the space was transformed.
after ten minutes of chanting, which certainly bemused people exiting the underground and finding themselves surrounded by love, the party began.
with a great selection of love-themed tunes on the bicycle sound system, people danced, chatted, hugged, ate lovely veggie food, and watched acrobatics, while children played, chalked the pavement, blew bubbles, and made cards at the arts table.
as the sun descended and the party was in full swing, westminster council tried to put a dampener on the proceedings, accompanied by police and threatening to seize the sound gear. however, by a process of questioning the power of seizure under bye-laws, and negotiating in a loving way, eventually a deal was struck and they said they'd let the party continue until 8pm (when a nearby theatre began its production). this seemed more fair, and the music continued, with some great live acts, rappers, poets, and musicians.
there was another circle formed in the evening, and a decade of an iconic london event came to an end peacefully. (well i assume it did - i left shortly before it ended)
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