Trafalgar Square Kite Festival
Sunday 15th September 2002
As part of the Mayor of London's "Summer in the Square" festivities,
a Kite Festival was held in Trafalgar Square. The usual rules banning
kite flying from the Square were lifted for the day, so that Nasser
Omar and his colleagues could fly their beautiful kites for the crowds.
Nasser runs a kite museum in Dijon, France, and travels the world displaying
his kites. He always takes different kites to each of the festivals, so
that you never see the same display twice.
The flying conditions here were not ideal - the arena was quite small,
and although it was a windy day, the turbulence from nearby buildings
caused problems for some of the kites. However, Nasser's Afghan fighter
kites quickly climbed in the sky and then flew fast and noisily, startling
the pigeons. Perhaps Ken Livingstone should consider kite flying as a
pigeon deterrent in the future...
A large delta kite was launched, and when it had reached a good height,
a train of small diamond kites was fed out on the line, creating a colourful
backdrop to Trafalgar Square. Disaster struck when the line broke and
the delta drifted away, the line getting caught around netting on the
top of the Cabinet Office in Admiralty Arch! The kites stayed anchored
to the building for about two hours, flying high above London, until the
security guards brought them down to earth!
A kite making workshop was held, followed by a further demonstration
of some of Nasser's beautiful animal and bird kites, to much applause
from the large crowd which had now gathered.
The Mayor's 'Thames Festival' took place later that evening so we stayed
in London to see the illuminated Aomori
float lead a procession along the Embankment - an appropriate end
to a fun day.
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| Kite flying is normally prohibited in Trafalgar Square |
Nasser Omar and assistant launch a beautiful dragon kite |
Kite-making workshop |
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| Nasser pictured here just seconds before his kite train
broke free! |
Security guards at the Cabinet Office retrieving the kites |
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| A beautiful array of flying creatures, including birds,
frogs and fish |
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| Two kites in the air |
Nasser flies a Mermaid |
Afghan fighter kite, Batman style! |
And Finally...
Links:
http://www.london.gov.uk/approot/mayor/trafalgar_square/kite_festival.jsp
Nasser Omar's
website
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