CAMPAIGNERS battling to resurrect the now-defunct anti-racism Rise festival have been granted permission to host a similar event in Finsbury Park next month.

Finsbury Park residents have spent the past 18 months garnering support to bring back the free summer music festival scrapped by London Mayor Boris Johnson for financial reasons.

They formed lobby group UpRise and vowed to bring the event back on their own terms.

Haringey Council has granted permission to host the event, but concert organisers are still £15,000 short and are hoping that over the next few weeks more sponsors will come forward.

Festival director Mike Barnard said: "We are delighted to have the go-ahead to stage the event in Finsbury Park and would like to thank everyone who has supported us.

"Although we have come a long way, we are not out of the woods yet and are calling on individuals and companies to support UpRise through donations or sponsorship to ensure that the event is the legacy that Rise deserves."

Taking on the spirit and the ideals of Rise, UpRise will use music and the arts to connect with Londoners to celebrate the city's rich cultural diversity, while staying true to the original event's ethos of providing a forum to share the message about anti-racism.

Over its 12-year run the festival attracted more than 100,000 revellers each year to catch big names including Fun Lovin' Criminals, Run DMC, De La Soul, The Specials and Jimmy Cliff.

It was well supported by Haringey residents as well as families enjoying a day out.