Coventry celebrates start of UK City of Culture year
- Published
Events are taking part across Coventry to mark the start of its year as UK City of Culture.
Pauline Black, lead singer of The Selecter, has performed as part of the Coventry Moves event which is being held online.
Bicycles have gone across the city as part of celebrations of its manufacturing history.
Although there have been pop-up performances, people have been urged to watch from home.
Organisers had to rethink events to comply with Covid-19 restrictions and members of the public can see the celebration via the festival website and social media.
Coventry Moves, the signature event of the year, was originally due to coincide with the launch on 15 May, but was moved because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Activities began earlier with the single voice of a woman, singing from a balcony in the Spon End area, before Black's performance.
She represented the spirit of the River Sherbourne running under the city and was joined by a choir and dancers.
Black was the first of six "energies of the city" being introduced - faces that "encapsulate" the city's spirit. Organisers said the energies were resilience, social justice, youthfulness, sustainability, people power and innovation.
There have been cavalcades in celebration of the city's manufacturing heritage and Saturday's activities will also include 14 modern Lady Godivas, chosen from more than 140 nominations, to represent the city's women.
Godiva, who died in 1067, was married to Leofric, the Earl of Mercia and Lord of Coventry.
According to legend, Leofric became so exasperated by Godiva's endless appeals to reduce taxes, he declared he would do so if she rode naked through the crowded marketplace.
Hundreds of performers and production teams have put in months of rehearsals for Saturday's activities.
Videos have featured the city's commitment to protecting the environment and stories of individuals and communities who have come from across the world to build Coventry.
Later, in the culmination of Coventry Moves, people are being invited to turn on radios at their doorsteps to premiere a piece of music, as nine stations will play different parts of the piece from 20:21 BST.
These form the full version when they are heard at the same time, so residents have been asked to talk to neighbours and plan who will listen to which station.
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