Free Plymouth Citybus tickets

Plymouth residents and visitors are invited to light a candle at the Illuminate event taking place on The Hoe in November and local bus firm Plymouth Citybus has donated a thousand bus tickets to get these people there.

Thousands of people are expected to gather for a special ‘Illuminate’ event on 20 November to mark the start of the official countdown to the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower sailing.

The event will start at 6pm with a small civic service at the Mayflower Steps with the Plymouth Lord Mayor, Councillor Michael Fox, and Dignitaries linked to the Mayflower Trail in the UK and US.

During the service one candle will be lit followed by a parade up to The Hoe where a further 1,000 candles will be lit to illustrate the quote by Governor William Bradford in his book Of Plimoth Plantation which states, “As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled has shown unto many,”. The aim of the event is to ‘share the light’ and inspire a sense of unity between the Plymouth, UK and Plymouth, Massachusetts – who will be holding a similar event the following day.

Residents and visitors are invited to The Hoe to ‘light’ their candles (electric or candle phone apps) and take part in a group formation, which from the air will create the number ‘400’.

Chairman of the Plymouth UK Mayflower Leadership Group, Adrian Vinken OBE, said “Illuminate is a very special event for Plymouth and one which I hope residents will be proud to participate in. We have received fantastic support from the City Council and local businesses which is extremely encouraging for the future of the whole Mayflower project.  This will be a seminal moment in the development of the international 2020 project.  Not only will it launch the official countdown to Mayflower 400 in both the UK and the USA but it will also provide the opportunity for our community to come together to celebrate Plymouth’s remarkable contribution to the history of the world over the past four centuries.”

To mark the occasion, and to show business and community support, Plymouth Citybus has sponsored the parade and also donated 1,000 bus travel tickets for people wanting to like a candle and get involved in the formation.

Bus tickets will be valid for one day only, and can only be used to travel to and from the event. They can be claimed by emailing visit-plymouth@plymouth.gov.uk and will be issued on a first come first served basis. Family tickets can be provided.

Plymouth Citybus isn’t the only local business supporting the event. The Race Equality Council is bringing their Step Up to Respect Parade which will be a main feature of the event and Jury’s Inn is offering 20% off the price of a limited number of their Plymouth rooms on the night for people attending the event. All you need to do is quote ‘Mayflower’ at the time of booking.

City College Plymouth are also supporting the event, Sharron Robbie, Director of Marketing, Corporate Relations and Enterprise at the college said: "City College Plymouth is delighted to be part of Illuminate, which marks the countdown to the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower from Plymouth. The Illuminate event will raise awareness and excitement around the historic event, and will enable community engagement from both sides of the Atlantic.

“It promises to be a very special event!”

For more information about this event visit www.visitplymouth.co.uk, tweet us @Mayflower400UK using #Illuminate2014 and follow our Mayflower 400 UK Facebook page.