Angel Canal Festival

Press release:

Angel Canal Festival is back – and everyone is invited 

Londoners are invited to join in the fun at City Road Basin this Sunday 4th September for the return of the Angel Canal Festival. 

The annual event was started more than 30 years ago thanks to the tireless work of local volunteers led by Crystal Hale and Jim Langdon. In later years the organising committee was led by Beryl Windsor and Sasha Kier. In 2018 national waterways and wellbeing charity Canal & River Trust took over the running of the festival, which has grown to become a mainstay of the local events calendar, attracting more than 10,000 visitors. 

But the event remains at heart a community-led celebration, with live music including a steel band, theatrical entertainment, a floating market and dozens of stalls from local organisations as well as boat trips, paddleboarding taster sessions and activities for children. 

All of that activity would make anyone hungry, and food lovers will be able to feast at the delicious street food market. 

After a tricky period during the pandemic when 2020’s event was cancelled, Angel made a tentative return last year with a smaller scale gathering. But now Angel Canal Festival is back, better than ever and promises a day out to remember. 

Ros Daniels, Canal & River Trust’s director for London & South East, said:  

“We can’t wait to welcome new visitors and old friends to this beautiful part of London, where the Regent’s Canal winds through some of the most picturesque and hidden corners of the capital. 

“More than 2.1 million people live within a kilometre of one of the waterways we look after in London and the South East, and in urban areas perhaps more than anywhere else, canal towpaths provide breathing space and a chance to connect with nature. 

“Research shows that being next to water improves your mental and physical health. The Canal & River Trust wants to make its canals more welcoming, safe and clean, to encourage more people to use them, and enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of walking and cycling, and being by the water.”