A "free festival on the banks of the Thames will provide a spectacular final to London's '100 days of summer,' and the end of the Paralympic Games," according to Ross Lydall of the London EVENING STANDARD. The event is expected to draw 800,000 people to the area between the London Eye and St. Katharine Docks, and end with a nighttime carnival featuring 1,500 performers on Victoria Embankment plus a giant fireworks display. The Thames Festival will be held over the weekend of Sept. 8-9 and will pay homage to the next Olympic host city, Rio de Janeiro, with a record-breaking 1,000 steel pans played in Jubilee Gardens beneath the London Eye, and a Rio-style float. London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "The Thames Festival celebrates the ingenuity, creativity and pioneering verve of this great world capital, and will have a significant role to play in our celebrations marking the 2012 Games" (EVENING STANDARD, 8/20).
THE PLACE TO BE: The NBA revealed that 53,000 fans attended NBA House, the interactive free fan experience and hospitality venue, that was held at Covent Garden's Jubilee Hall in London from Aug. 3-12. Along with appearances by two-time NBA Champion Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, Hall of Famer David Robinson, and many other NBA legends, NBA House featured 14 clinics and skills sessions, including NBA Cares programming. The sessions focused on team work, leadership and healthy living. The NBA Cares events included former NBA players Bruce Bowen, John Amaechi, Robert Horry and Sam Perkins interacting with fans and children (NBA).
