Top Athletes for I Love Jamaica Day In London

Jamaica’s athletes, who will be participating in the AVIVA Grand Prix at Crystal Place, London, will be among the special guests at an ‘I Love Jamaica Day’ event on August 15.
Slated for Crystal Palace Park on the Sunday following the two-day athletics meet, the day will feature many of the country’s top athletes, including sprinter Asafa Powell.
It will showcase Jamaica’s cultural excellence and include a full performance by the renown University Singers, to culminate the group’s 2010 European tour. There will be a children steel band and carnival costume parade.
Jamaica’s cuisine will also be on show, through an array of items available at the food court. There will be a fashion show by leading Jamaican designer Neahlis, and a presentation on Jamaica as a destination by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB).
‘I Love Jamaica Day’ is organised by the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) and the company’s Chief Representative in the United Kingdom (UK), Paulette Simpson, said the event “is about showing off the best of Jamaica”.
“We want to recreate good feelings about Jamaica and about being Jamaican. The island has received a lot of negative press recently, so this is an opportunity to remind everyone about what is good about Jamaica. The day will highlight the best of Jamaica, showcasing our music, food, our athletes and our creativity,” Ms. Simpson said.
‘I Love Jamaica Day’ is among a number of special events organized by Jamaican organizations and community groups in the UK for the Emancipation and Independence celebrations.
Other activities include a special evensong service at Westminster Abbey on Monday, August 2, while the Association of Jamaican Nationals in Birmingham, the Jamaica National Council in Huddersfield, the Nottingham Jamaica Friendship Society, and the All Saints Caribbean Community in Newham, London will host Independence services on Sunday, August 8.
The Association of Jamaican UK Trust and the Jamaica Society Manchester have also planned summer balls to mark the occasion.
The annual Service of Praise and Thanksgiving, organised by the Jamaican High Commission, was held earlier today (July 31) at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, London.