Hundreds of lanterns lit up Rotherhithe and Bermondsey again last Friday (March 4) after two years away.
The Illuminate Rotherhithe and Bermondsey procession was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but came back this year.
The aim of the lantern processions, which this year went from Mayflower Hall on Neptune Street and St James’ Church on Jamaica Road before coming together in Southwark Park, is to celebrate migration. Between 800 and 1,000 people came to this year’s festival, according to organiser Annabel Stockman.
Organisers said on the festival’s website: “The more we mix, the more we feel part of the community, and the aim of the festival is to encourage our communities to be involved, to participate, to collaborate and to mix.”
There was a series of free lantern-making workshops across the area in the run-up to the festival, run by local artists.