Horses for good causes at annual festive race

Huge crowds of people turned out to show their support for the annual London Pantomime Horse Race in Greenwich.

More than 30 pantomime horses, dressed as a variety of characters from stage and screen, took to the streets for the festive race, all to raise money for youth cancer support charity YouCan.

The annual event, now in its 9^th year, included a pre-race ceremony and after-race party either side of the 0.25 mile race through Greenwich, which included six ‘pit-stops’ at local pubs.

Crowds were entertained by a variety of live performances including from singer and musician Kirsty Newton and a Taylor Swift tribute act.

Mark Biddiss, organiser of the London Pantomime Horse Race, said: “It was fantastic to see so many people come out to support the event this year and enjoy all of the entertainment we had laid on for the crowds to watch.

“We all had a lot of fun at the event, and more importantly, raised more than £11,000 for YouCan, which is a fantastic sum for an extremely worthwhile cause.

“Next year will be the tenth anniversary of the event, and we have already started planning the celebrations to ensure we put on a great show for the many people who come to see the horse race each year.”

This year’s event was co-sponsored by housebuilder Fairview New Homes, the developer currently building a collection of 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments at its Maritime development off Greenwich High Road.

Andy Georgiou, Sales and Marketing Director for Fairview, said: “We were proud to support this year’s London Pantomime Horse Race, and are delighted that the event proved to be a huge success, helping to raise a significant amount of money for a great cause.”

“The race has become a firm favourite in the Greenwich social calendar, and it was fantastic to be part of such a fun, family-friendly event.”