Communities encouraged to reimagine streets this Car Free Day

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, TfL and London Play are encouraging Londoners to transform their streets into spaces for playful celebration and street parties on Car Free Day this September.  Local streets across London will be open for play between Friday, 20th September, and Sunday, 22nd September, as they become play streets for the day, enabling thousands of Londoners to play, walk, cycle and spend time with their neighbours.

London hosted its largest Car Free Day celebrations in 2019, which saw thousands of people enjoy traffic-free streets in central London as well as hundreds of local streets across the capital. Since the pandemic, Car Free Day events have been focused on local neighbourhoods, and continue to offer a fantastic opportunity for people to enjoy their streets in new ways.

London Play is inviting the capital’s residents to swap their cars for space hoppers and transform their streets into temporary spaces for play and social gatherings. The annual event is on Sunday, 22nd September. It coincides with the official launch of the London Overground line which runs between Highbury & Islington and West Croydon being named the Windrush line, happening in autumn.

TfL is working with London Play to encourage residents in the nine boroughs it passes through to hold carnival-inspired street parties to celebrate. One lucky neighbourhood will also win their own mini-carnival event including an on-street ‘Karnival Kart’ building workshop and parade, party games and carnival wing making.

Hackney Council is getting into the carnival spirit as well as the Hackney Carnival returns following a five-year absence on Sunday, 22nd September. Locals will be able to enjoy a free a family-focused street parade featuring Hackney’s loyal legacy carnival groups that celebrate the borough’s diverse communities. The daytime event will showcase eye-catching floats and vibrant colourful costumes that celebrate the diversity of carnival culture.