RAG procession returns to Bristol

Students at the 2007 RAG Procession

Press release issued: 8 February 2011

A long parade of street performers, floats and classic cars will be taking over the streets of Bristol next Saturday [19 February] when the long-running Bristol tradition, the RAG Procession returns.

The event, organised by the University's Students' Union RAG [Raising & Giving] project, which last year raised over £250,000 for local, national and international charities, is returning after feedback from local residents said they viewed the procession as ‘one of the city's highlights’.

The event, now in its 86th year, helps to raise money for RAG charitable causes. These include, the Students’ Union Student Community Action project Jolidays, which enables young carers to take a well-deserved break, One25 House, a charity that supports women trapped in sex work, and the Jessie May Trust amongst many others.

The procession will begin at 12 noon from Clifton Downs, from there it will proceed down Whiteladies Road to the Clifton Triangle, along Park Street and around Broadmead before heading back up Park Street, finishing at the University of Bristol Students’ Union on Queen’s Road.

Susie Bailey, University of Bristol Student’s Union RAG Co-ordinator, said: “This year we are hoping to raise more money than ever. RAG week has always been a huge event in Bristol and this year we are aiming to beat past records to give even more money to local charities.”

The procession is the highlight of RAG Week, which runs from 12 February 2011. For more information on the procession and other RAG Week events visit the University of Bristol Students’ Union website. RAG Week is kindly sponsored by Ernst & Young.

Archive footage of the 1953 RAG Procession is available to watch on the British Pathe historical archive website.

Further information

Please contact Susie Bailey, RAG Co-ordinator for further information.