Mayor lures tourists with £4m festivals

A month-long series of festivals is being held across London to boost the tourist trade.

Ranging from Regent Street to Richmond, the events are being promoted under the second phase of Ken Livingstone's £6 million Totally London campaign to rejuvenate the capital's attractions.

Londoners will be encouraged to explore their city, as £4million is spent on promotions to lure visitors from all over the world.

Events began yesterday with David Gray's Trafalgar Square concert, which cost £600,000 to stage and saw more than 100,000 people apply for 10,000 tickets.

Among other highlights will be the Regent Street Festival from Thursday to Sunday, which includes late-night shopping at which Evening Standard readers can get 20 per cent off. The first Totally London campaign was held in June.

For full details, see www.visitlondon.com.