GLOW festival of light has secured £40,000 in donations to help this year’s festival go ahead, including a £10,000 donation from the Mayor of London following a successful pitch at a City Hall event on Tuesday.

However Creative Barking and Dagenham, the organisation planning the event, are hoping more donations will come in to help them reach their £114,500 target by 25th September.

The medieval manor house Valence House, which is surrounded by a moat, could be set serve as the scenic backdrop to this year’s festival.

Last year’s event, which was attended by around 2,000 people, was held at Eastbury Manor House.

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation matched the mayor’s donation and other large contributors are Valence House Museum, CBD Partner Organisations and Artichoke.

However there have also been over 200 donations under £100, with lots donating as little as £2, helping get over a third of the way towards their aim.

Liza Valance, artistic director at Creative Barking and Dagenham, said: “We are extremely grateful to the Mayor, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and everyone who has dug deep to contribute to our crowd-funding campaign for GLOW so far.

“We are optimistic about reaching our target but there is still a long way to go if Barking and Dagenham is to pull off another remarkable outdoor event. Pledging starts from just £2, so we encourage you, if you can, to get behind the project and pledge.”

You can donate here https://www.spacehive.com/glow.