The Festival of Diverse Cities

Borough Market is joining with the Government of Catalonia for a special event to celebrate St George's Day.

The festival celebrates the fact that England and Catalonia share a patron saint – St George.

The event will also mark the anniversary of the deaths of Shakespeare and Cervantes, highlight World Book Day and celebrate the work of Josep Pla – a Catalan journalist and popular writer whose prose is widely acknowledged as the finest in contemporary Catalan literature.

Actors from the Lions part theatre company – regulars at Borough Market festivities – will join street performers from the Southwark Playhouse in bringing the likes of St George, Catherine of Aragon and, of course, the dragon to Borough’s streets.

The festivities will be set to a soundtrack of music from Hadar Manor, with her acoustic folk sound, classical English songs from Sara Minns, and Catalan folk songs from El So D'Alacant.

The Jubilee Market will host a series of demonstrations. Mrs Kings (pie making), Arabica (falafels), Shellseekers (fish and chips), Angela Malik (curry) and Brindisa (specialities of Catalonia) will all be displaying their expertise, while the spectacular results of their efforts will all be available to taste.

The traders will also be handing out complimentary copies of the Borough Market book, inside which you will discover the long and occasionally controversial history of the market, as well as meeting some of traders who have made it a destination market for professional and amateur foodies from all over the world.

The exchanging of roses and books as tokens of mutual respect is something of a Catalan custom, and the UK delegation of the Government of Catalonia – which has generously lent support to the staging of the event - will visit the market during the festivities to perform the ritual with members of the public. The traders will also join this act of friendship by handing out books throughout the day, as well as some rather more edible delicacies.