Morning:
14°c
New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
Some fares could fall by more than a third when Oyster is extended to every national rail station in London, it has emerged
More...
Party could be crowded out of Chinatown
By Jo McDermott, Evening Standard 19.02.07
This year's Chinese New Year celebrations were as popular as ever
Look here too
Celebrations marking the Chinese new year in London could be switched to Hyde Park because the event is getting so popular.
An estimated 275,000 people were in Trafalgar Square and Soho for the day- long celebrations to mark the start of the Year of the Pig.
Organisers have revealed they may move the venue next year to cope with the ever-growing numbers.
Yesterday's total for the celebrations - said to be the biggest of their kind outside China - were up by a third on last year.
At one point the volume forced police to stop people entering Chinatown for an hour.
Deputy festival director Susannah Qwok said: "We are running out of space in Trafalgar Square because more and more people are coming along.
"It is possible we will have to move to Hyde Park but we would like to keep the celebrations close to Chinatown. We have plans to make the festival even bigger. I have already started organising next year's and am talking to more commercial sponsors. We would like to run a full stage programme."
Yesterday's event started with a colourful procession through The Strand and Rupert Street with dancers and performers banging drums and throwing firecrackers on the floor.
Trafalgar Square was then filled with red lanterns, lion dances, foodstalls, and silk string performances on the main stage while two fireworks displays were held in Leicester Square.
Kun Liu, a 22-year-old computingand statistics student, from Nan Jing, near Shanghai, said: "The lion dance was the best thing I've seen. It's very hard to do for the two people inside the costume. It takes at least 10 years to train for. I tried it once and it was impossible.
"I came to London two years ago and didn't realise Chinese new year was such a big celebration here. It's really impressive."
Jessica Sun, 27, a journalist from Beijing, has lived in London for six months. She said: "I've enjoyed all the Chinese new year celebrations very much. It is very similar to what you would see in China." The celebrations coincide with the final phase of a £2 million makeover of Chinatown, home to 80 restaurants.
Work already completed includes the repaving of Gerrard Street with Chinese granite. Plans for the first Beijing- crafted gate to be installed outside China were announced last week.
If approved, the 12-metre structure, costing about £750,000, would span Wardour Street. As part of Chinese new year, a season of cultural Chinese events will run until next month.
Related articles
More
Reader views (2)
Moving it to Hyde Park would be a big mistake. It would lose its' intensity, energy, and, most importantly, it will lose its connection to London's Chinese community. I applaud the decision to expand the event to Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, and also the parade along the Strand, but those areas are adjacent to Chinatown. Hyde Park is on the other side of Mayfair. It would cease to have any Chinese character if it was moved so far away. Also the park is muddy and wet at this time of year.
- Marcus, Bayswater, London
The Chinese New Year celebration in the west end is now a major event in the London calender.
With such good weather as on Sunday, it is bound to attract a bigger crowd.
Changing the venue away from Chinatown and its vicinity will lose the event's mystique.
It was a joy to see faces of all ages and nationalities and the event passed without major accidents.
A big thank you to the organisers and the supporting teams.
- Kim Looi, Uxbridge
