London to mark International Yoga Day with a series of events

The city of London will mark the International Day of Yoga (IDY) on June 21 with a series of events near the iconic Tower Bridge and on the river Thames over the next few days, the Indian High Commission said on Friday. The high commission announced that the main event to mark the day will be held at the Potters Fields Park, near the iconic Tower Bridge on Sunday and is expected to be attended by hundreds of people.

"The event is for British friends to enjoy and benefit from the life changing experience of yoga," a high commission statement said.

Some of the other key events include a floating yoga event on board a barge named 'Avontuur' on the River Thames on Monday morning, to be attended by Indian envoy to the UK Navtej Sarna among others.

Another on the 73rd floor of The Shard - London's famous skyscraper and the tallest building in the UK, on Tuesday - the official UN designated date for IDY.

The resolution for International Yoga Day was proposed to the UN General Assembly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. The initiative found unprecedented support and was adopted by 177 member states without a vote in record time to declare June 21 as International Day of Yoga.

British MP Bob Blackman also plans to table an Early Day Motion (EDM) on the International Day of Yoga in the coming weeks, calling for "Yoga to be included as part of mindfulness and well-being initiatives for NHS (National Health Service) staff and for Yoga to be integrated within treatment for patients". It also calls on the UK's Department of Education to "introduce Yoga in the school physical education (PE) curriculum".