Close search
Close search

Northcote Road Festival served an ace of a day!

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Northcote Road Festival Served An Ace Of A Day
Post Date: 31 Jul 2019

The grass courts of Wimbledon may have experienced an action-packed day on Sunday 14th July, but Battersea’s Northcote Road was no-less exciting with its renowned street festival and Wimbledon big-screen broadcast. 

Famed for its huge selection of specialist shops, boutiques, hair-salons, restaurants, bars, fishmongers and butchers, the Northcote Road was flooded with colourful bunting and over 150 stalls. The diverse selection of stall offerings ranged from china, clothing, homeware and jewellery to a children’s funfair and a mouth-watering selection of street food from across the globe. Festival highlights included the special open-air screening of the Men’s Wimbledon Finals and a host of performances on the main stage.

Sports enthusiasts were treated to a fine game, courtesy of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who thrilled fans with nearly five hours of extraordinary tennis in the Men’s Singles Final. Undeterred, the loyal crowd stayed glued to the end.

The main stage, sponsored by the local restaurant and bar, Archer Street SW11, delighted the audience with spectacular live stage performances from Fancy Footwork, Be Dance Company, Dance Force United, plus a powerful performance from the Battersea Station Choir. Rock music from the children’s band ‘Kidz N Rock’ drenched the air, and a performance from Let’s Act Drama School was much admired. The West End also came to SW11 in the form of West End actress and panellist on ITV’s Loose Women - Brenda Edwards - also famed for her X-Factor appearances. The IDolls - three stunning West-End divas from the award-winning musical ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’– entertained the audience to a spectacular medley of popular songs, while the talented Archer Street Singers, with their high energy performances, wowed the crowd. The Kids’ Zone, delighted children and families with a myriad of activities including carousel rides, a bungee run and bumper cars.

The festival organisers were delighted that The Mayor of Wandsworth, Councillor Mrs Jane Cooper and her husband, visited the various stalls, businesses and public services who were represented on the day - such as the local police and fire brigade. After sampling some of the delicious festival food, the Mayor enjoyed watching the afternoon entertainment on the main stage.

Huge thanks to the Northcote Business Network who championed and led the event, chaired by Jonathan Dyson, the Regional Director at Countrywide PLC. Jonathan Dyson commented,

“This event has been held for the last twenty-nine years and I have been involved for the last seven. Over the last few years the event has really gained momentum and become the event of the summer in southwest London. We were, no doubt, helped by the moderate weather (not too hot, not too cold), but visitor numbers were without a doubt the best ever. I'd like to say a huge thank you to the ongoing support of Wandsworth Council, and to all of the team from Think Events who have run the event for the last few years and make everything look so easy. It really is a mammoth task! Next year marks the thirtieth year of the event, and we are already starting to make plans for it to be even bigger and better than this year. A huge thanks to all concerned in organising it, and an even bigger thanks to those who attended on the day."

The event was sponsored by the new Clapham Junction Business Improvement District (BID) Ltd, Northcote Business Network and Archer Street SW11, with special thanks to Wandsworth Council and Wandsworth Councillors.

A big shout-out also goes to the local residents who joined in the fun and supported the event, along with all the local businesses who participated.

Don’t forget to put next year’s date in your diary - Sunday 12th July 2020.

To find out more news throughout the next year, be sure to visit these pages or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @BIDJunction

Archive