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The Great Christmas Pudding Race Returns to Covent Garden

By Hayley Pedrick
Last updated at 16:21:00 PM on 09 December 2011

The hugely popular and hilariously funny Christmas Pudding Race will return to London’s Covent Garden Piazza on the 3^rd December this year. An annual event organised by charity Cancer Research UK, the London Christmas Pudding Race is now in its 31^st year, bringing festive cheer to the fundraising calendar.

Participants don inventive fancy dress outfits to take part in the fun relay event. The race requires contestant’s to make all possible efforts to keep a quivering Figgie pudding on a tray as they navigate a quirky obstacle course. John Hicks, Station Director of Covent Garden Radio has been enthusiast in his support of the event writing: “I have to say that news of a “Great Christmas Pudding Race” grabbed my attention. I am a huge fan of Christmas Puddings and, despite my portly figure, think I could outrun one in a straight race over a fairly short distance.” Speed isn’t the only skill contestants will need to be the first to successfully complete the course. But the race is all done in the name of fun and the winner fittingly receives a Pudding Trophy for their efforts.

The Christmas Pudding Race has gathered plenty of momentum since its debut on the London scene in 1980. The event is supported by thousands of locals, students and foreign visitors as well asa large celebrity cast. The 2011 celebrity attendees are expected to include actors from popular TV series East Enders, Bill Oddie, Jon Snow, Fay Preston and Timothy Spall among others. A substantial amount of media coverage is also given to the event and is a great way for participating corporate teams to raise their company’s profiles. Cancer Research is hoping to improve on the amount of funds raised at the previous year’s event, which totalled £19,000. All proceeds go to Cancer Research UK to help them continue to deliver much needed medical advances that save thousands of lives.

Covent Garden Piazza is a major attraction for shoppers and visitors alike. This is mostly due to the world-renowned market that is a permanent fixture in the square. The Covent Garden Market site was originally a large kitchen garden, used to grow food for the monks at the great Westminster Abbey and the Convent of St Peters during the 13^th century. It later served as major source of fruit and vegetables for the city of London and continued to operate in this way for around 700 years, before finally being granted into private ownership.

Inigo Jones was commissioned to redesign the area in 1630 and created the Piazza and surrounding road layout much as we see it today, with its hotels, theatres and terraced dwellings. On completion Covent Garden became the first open square in England.

Today it continues to serve as one of Europe’s finest specialty shopping centers, offering visitor the chance to shop for quality handcrafted gifts and antiques as well as providing easy access the wealth of adjacent high street retail outlets which are on its doorstep. Tourists planning to visit the Covent Garden area over the festive season would be wise to stay in a hotel in the vicinity, such as the 5-star Chancery Court Hotel in nearby Holborn, to avoid public transport congestion issues.