500th Fairtrade Town Celebrations

On the evening of 1st November 2010 fair trade supporters gathered at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff for the declaring of the 500th Fairtrade Town in the UK.  Cyclists taking part in the final stage of the 500 Miles for 500 Towns Bike Ride were welcomed by pupils from the latest Welsh schools to achieve Fairtrade status.

Bicester in Oxfordshire gained the prestigious title of the UK's 500th Fairtrade Town and joins a growing international Fairtrade Towns movement which now spans 19 countries and unites capital cities such as Rome, Brussels, Paris and London with small market towns and remote Scottish Islands.  The crowd applauded as Bruce Crowther - the Fairtrade Towns Advisor - presented the town with a certificate via live video link.  You can read more about Bicester in the Fairtrade Foundation's press release.

The evening concluded with the presentation of Fairtrade flags to pupil representatives of the latest Fairtrade Schools in Wales, from Jane Davidson AM - Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing.

You can see more photos from the evening on our Flickr page.