The festival carries on into the night

Attractions at the Thames Festival will include a boat decorated with 125,000 miniature light bulbs that has been shipped over from the Indian state of West Bengal to lead the festival's Procession of Lights.

Up to 2,000 people are expected to take part in the twilight procession on Sunday, following a weekend of music, street theatre, funfairs, food and craft stalls along the Thames from the London Eye to the Oxo Tower.

Festival director Adrian Evans said: "It is an event for the whole of London.

"The procession involves school kids and communities drawn from Ealing, Acton, Croydon and Barnet, all over London, who have been making lanterns and costumes since May."

The weekend festival follows the Totally London campaign this summer to get residents as well as visitors out and about in the city to offset the tourism slump.

Indian carnival influence

It also celebrates the Thames "as the city's greatest asset and a powerful unifying symbol for the whole of London".

This year the festival has developed a strong link with India.

Craftsmen from Calcutta have been invited to London to work alongside artists in schools and with community groups to create Din Shuru, an Indian carnival.

The seven-metre long illuminated ornamental boat made in West Bengal will form the sculptural centrepiece of Din Shuru.

And two choirs at one of the music stages will sing to raise funds for Water Aid to provide safe sources of drinking water to rural Indian communities.