It was Saturday, 25 September 1971. Tens of thousands of people, young and old, met together on London’s Trafalgar Square for the largest ever open-air gathering of Christians in British history.
People carried placards showing a map of the UK or showing messages like ‘Jesus loves you’. Some wore Nationwide Festival of Light (NFoL) T-shirts and there was a general atmosphere of sheer excitement and expectation.
In the Square, a great platform and stage hosted The Revd Eddie Stride, joined by Malcolm Muggeridge, Lord Longford, Mary Whitehouse (see photo below), and a Salvation Army Band. They all stood underneath a banner saying ‘Moral Pollution Needs a Solution’. The Square was so full that the police had to divert people to wait in Hyde Park.
