Speech Debelle to play Thames festival

London celebrates its cultural diversity next month with the return of the Mayor's Thames festival.

The weekend of September 11-12 will include new artworks, circus acts and musical performances, including one by Mercury prizewinner Speech Debelle. A flotilla of unusual boats, from yachts to oyster smacks, will parade from Greenwich to Lambeth and back.

The festival will close with a night carnival featuring 2,000 performers and a fireworks display launched from the Thames.

The annual festival is the largest free outdoor event in London, last year attracting more than 800,000 visitors to the Thames and its surrounding walkways.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said the festival was a "great event", describing it as "a lively and magical celebration of London and its river".

The festival director, Adrian Evans, said the event was "a great celebration of the creativity of Londoners, young and old".