“We want to foster and encourage London’s artists, designers, curators, producers and to make life as easy as possible for our large and economically important creative industries. And we want the best creative minds involved in London 2012 – a beautiful park in the East End and world-class culture for everyone.” Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.
Promoting art and culture
The Olympic and Paralympic Games provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to showcase what our city has to offer culturally. London 2012 will be the greatest show on earth and leave a lasting culture legacy for future generations.
Tourism and culture
Seven out of ten visitors to London say culture is the reason they chose to come to the city. Throughout the world, London is famous for its cultural institutions and its capacity for nurturing new talent and innovation.
London’s museums and galleries attract millions of international visitors – the British Museum alone has around five million such visitors each year. London’s West End theatres have an enthusiastic global audience. And our city’s famous live music venues attract audiences, especially young people, from across the UK and beyond.
Culture and business
Given the current economic pressures, it is more important than ever for London to promote itself to investors and businesses as well as tourists.
London’s creative sector is truly international – for example, two thirds of the world’s largest multinational advertising agencies have their European headquarters here. We want to build on this success, to help London’s creative businesses develop their overseas markets and also to use culture to contribute towards the wider promotion of London as an effective and enjoyable place to do business.
Promote London Council
The Mayor has established the Promote London Council, which has senior representatives from all of London’s promotional agencies as well as industry figures, including those from the creative sector. The PLC will provide leadership and focus on how the capital can be promoted.
Promoting London’s creative industries
The Mayor provides, where the economic case can be made, support for London’s creative industries events and festivals. High-profile international promotion is vital for many of London’s creative businesses and, events like London Fashion Week, Frieze Art Fair, London Design Festival and BFI London Film Festival bring not only overseas clients and buyers, but also a wider global focus to London.
As well as boosting inward investment to London’s economy, these events are also an important part of the UK industry calendar and London’s cultural life, and recent efforts to make these events more publicly accessible are to be endorsed.
Publications
Cultural Metropolis executive summary
Cultural Metropolis - Direction of Travel document
Assembly response to Cultural Metropolis
