"Wow moment" fireworks finale for London 2012

This year The Mayor's Thames Festival weekend (8 & 9 September) coincides with the closing weekend of the Paralympic Games, marking the end of London's tenure as Olympic and Paralympic host city.

The two-day Thames Festival usually ends with a Sunday night fireworks display fired from barges on the River Thames between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge.

Last week the Mayor's London 2012 director Neale Coleman signed off a grant of £165,000 to the Thames Festival Trust to support its plans for a "a spectacular pyrotechnic river-based display, fired against the iconic backdrop of the London skyline".

According to a City Hall document published last week, the cash will enable the trust to "take forward its proposal to produce a fireworks display significantly more spectacular than the festival's usual finale and a 'wow' moment that promotes London as a leading host city".

Although The Mayor's Thames Festival is branded as a City Hall-backed event the Greater London Authority last year provided just £60,000 towards its overall costs.