Event to honour St George

This month’s St George’s Day Festival in Lytham is the seventh event to honour the country’s patron saint.

The four-day gala includes the raising of the St George’s Cross flag on Lytham Green, a charity golf tournament, black tie dinner, parade, family fun day, 10km run – and a world record attempt.

Event organisers need to get more than 1,096 Georges to the festival parade on April 25 to beat the 10 year-old record set in Dubai by people called Mohammed.

And David Haythornthwaite, president of the St George’s Day Charity Festival, said he wanted as many people with the name George to attend the festival parade during this year’s celebrations.

“It’s always struck me as odd that citizens in other countries receive a day off to celebrate their national saint’s day but here in England we don’t,” he said.

“How fitting would it be if the world record for people with the same name was broken here in England during a St George’s Day festival?”

British architect and television presenter George Clarke, who presents some of popular television programmes including The Home Show and The Restoration Man has also pledged his support for the 
official record attempt.

He said: “I think this is a really exciting Guinness World Record attempt that I just had to be part of.

“My grandfather and father were both called George, they obviously named me George and I then named my first son George too.”

For more information on the day and he various events around it, log on to www.april23.co.uk