Thousands Of Shoppers To Get Christmas Carolling This Weekend: London's Longest Charity Carol-A-Thon

Dec. 8, 2011 - PRLog -- Christmas shoppers will be out in force for the biggest West End shopping weekend of the year when Oxford and Regent Street go traffic free with a festive feast of 2 miles of entertainment and hundreds of shoppers joining the 30 hours of Christmas Carol singing at Oxford Circus to raise over £75,000 for Kids Company.

The West End Christmas Carol-a-thon will involve thousands of shoppers, with House of Fraser hosting the night shift of singers in their Oxford Street shop window.  Organisers at New West End Company, and event sponsors American Express, predict that the charity carollers are likely to sing favourites including We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Hark the Herald Angels Sing over 250 times.

Over the weekend American Express, as well as giving Cardmembers double rewards, are donating £1 to Kids Company every time a card is used in the West End over the weekend, with a target of £50,000, and hundreds of fundraisers will join the 2,000 carollers and 1,000 entertainers to make the weekend one to remember for shoppers shrugging off the economic gloom and Kid’s Company, who will use the money to give 3,000 children a magical Christmas.

Comments Jace Tyrrell from New West End Company, “Retailers are pulling out all the stops for what is set to be the biggest American Express Shop West End VIP experience ever, with £150 million set to go through the tills and two whole days of traffic-free shopping. Everyone from the local street wardens to established pop stars will be lending their voices to the Carol-A-Thon across the weekend and with other traditional Christmas music acts and entertainment up and down Oxford Street and Regent Street, shoppers are in for a real festive treat.  We want shoppers to come and cheer on our carollers throughout the day and night and we’d really welcome some vocal support for the early morning Sunday shift! ”

Says Camila Batmanghelidjh, Founder of Kids Company “We hope shoppers will come down and join in the West End Carol-A-Thon and enjoy themselves and help us make this a cracking Christmas for 3,500 kids.”

Event organisers New West End Company have worked with Westminster Council, Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and 600 retailers to put on the seventh traffic free VIP Day shopping event which involves diverting 1,000 buses to install two miles of activity and fun for the world’s most heartfelt Christmas shopping day.

Oxford Street and Regent Street will be traffic-free from 11am-6pm on Saturday 10 December and from 12noon-5pm on Sunday 11 December. For more information on taking part in the Carol-A-Thon visit www.westendvip.com/weekend.