The London Festival of Europe 2009 will run from 30th April to 10th May View the Festival web-page: http://www.festivalofeurope.eu One month before the European Elections in June, the London Festival of Europe 2009 brings to London a series of FREE public events and artistic happenings promoting imaginative thinking about Europe’s future and its relation to the rest of the world. Key messages of this year’s festival are the importance and value of the diversity of peoples and the solidarity between them, of democracy and democratic choice at a transnational level, and of imagination for alternative ways of ordering our societies in the future. The organisers of the festival, now in its third year, Lorenzo Marsili and Niccolo Milanese say: ‘The current economic crisis has shown that the unequal and undemocratic way we have ordered our societies up until now has failed. It has also shown that there is a lack of alternative proposals on the table. This festival is an attempt to both promote imaginative thinking about the future of our societies and to promote the formation of realistic alternative proposals at a transnational level, starting with Europe.’ The opening event of the Festival in London will be at the Courtauld Institute of Art on the 30th of April, with an artistic and architectural discussion of the City featuring utopian architect Stefano Boeri and star curator Hans Ulrich Obrist. On the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th May various public discussions, artistic processions and theatre performances will take place throughout London promoting an alternative vision of the city: a city founded on democracy, diversity and equality. Amongst organisations taking part in the weekend are the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, the Labour party pressure group Compass youth, Shunt Vaults and Resonance FM radio. On the 8th May at London School of Economics a key-note election debate ‘The Choice of Europeans’ between senior figures of each of the major European Political parties will set out the democratic options open to voters in the forthcoming European Elections. Festival organisers Lorenzo Marsili and Niccolo Milanese say: ‘There is a lack of public discussion and information about the European elections in the UK, just at a time when international organisations are more important than before. This will only add to the chances of extreme right-wing groups winning seats. This is why we have organised a debate between the main European political parties.’ Finally over the 9th and 10th May (9th of May is Europe Day) a cultural congress entitled ChangeUtopia! will bring to RichMix on Bethnal Green Road artists, intellectuals and activists from throughout Europe to draw together proposals for an alternative way of ordering our societies at a transnational level, focussing on gender equality, migrant rights, the environment, and responses to the crisis. The Festival also involves events in Paris on gender equality in Europe and Barcelona on migrants’ rights.