MD3392 Delivery Plan – Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London

Background

1.1.    The Greater London Authority (GLA) has been establishing refreshed delivery and governance arrangements over the last few months. 

1.2.    In undertaking these changes, we have:

•    defined a set of London-level, long-term outcomes which reflect Londoners’ aspirations for the city and towards which the GLA and the GLA Group are working, in partnership with others
•    agreed a small set of strategic, high-level, programmes which the Mayor will commission the GLA Group to deliver in order that the GLA and the GLA Group make the appropriate contributions towards the London-level outcomes.

1.3.    MD3274 ‘Updates to GLA Governance Documents’, published on 13 June 2024, marked the first formal step in implementing new portfolio and governance arrangements and set out approved revisions to the arrangements through which the Mayor exercises and, where appropriate, delegates his powers. It also laid out some changes to the way the GLA’s senior leadership works to ensure that the GLA is successful in exercising its strategic role and in securing delivery.

1.4.    The GLA is now bringing forward for approval delivery plans for the 14 strategic, high-level, programmes which are led by the GLA and involve functional bodies as appropriate. These are numbered 1-14 and set out below, along with delivery plans 15-21, where the relevant GLA Group organisation is taking a leadership role: 

1.    Building more homes
2.    Making best use of land
3.    Improving London’s housing stock
4.    Reducing inequalities
5.    Accommodation and wider support for those who need it most
6.    Reducing non-residential emissions
7.    Delivering a greener, more climate-resilient London
8.    Cleaning London’s air
9.    Supporting Londoners to benefit from growth
10.    Supporting and inspiring young London
11.    Boosting London’s growth sectors
12.    Helping local economies to thrive
13.    Upgrading London’s infrastructure
14.    Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London
15.    Reducing violence and exploitation
16.    Building safer, more confident communities
17.    Supporting and overseeing reform of the Metropolitan Police Service 
18.    Improving the Criminal Justice System and supporting victims
19.    Healthy streets
20.    Decarbonising transport
21.    Providing more effective, accessible and affordable public transport.

1.5.    The Mayor has been issuing mandates for these proposed programmes to prospective Senior Responsible Owners (SROs). Mayoral mandates define what the Mayor wants to see from each of the programmes, including their scope, objectives, and cross-cutting priorities. Programmes and their associated delivery plans have been developed by the proposed programme SROs, working with the relevant Deputy Mayors, Mayoral Directors and others in response to the Mayor’s mandates. They have been developed to strike the right balance between setting out plans and retaining flexibility to respond to events and learning, as delivery progresses, recognising that agility is important in the context of a changing landscape.

1.6.    Delivery plans lay out the London-level outcomes to which each programme contributes. In considering the GLA’s specific role in contributing to the London-level outcomes, programme SROs have focused on the role of the GLA as London’s strategic regional authority. This has meant looking carefully at where activities most effectively sit within the London system and how the GLA can work with partners to unlock and drive progress. In some cases that will be through direct delivery or through funding. In others it will be through more indirect mechanisms such as system reconfiguration, coalition formation, technical support or capacity building.

1.7.    Resource allocations to each programme are based on the allocations contained in the GLA: Mayor Budget 2025-26. Changes required to delivery plans over time will be agreed by the Mayoral Delivery Board (MDB) or the Mayor in line with our revised governance arrangements. 

1.8.    Delivery plans lay out how each programme makes a positive difference to the relevant London-level outcomes. Key programme outputs are also detailed and will be reported quarterly to MDB, which is responsible for monitoring the performance and delivery of each programme’s delivery plans.

Overview of the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London delivery plan

1.9.    The Mayoral mandate for the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London programme is appended to this decision form at Appendix 1. The proposed delivery plan is appended at Appendix 2 and presented by the Executive Director, Strategy and Communications, as the proposed SRO, for the Mayor’s approval. 

1.10.    By approving the plan, and the resources allocated to it, the Mayor is enabling the GLA, working with partners, to contribute to the core London-level outcomes:

•    Londoners feel able to take part in the city’s cultural life 
•    London is a world-leading global city.

1.11.    London’s population according to the last census in 2021, is 8.9 million. London is significantly more diverse than England with 46 per cent of residents identifying as part of Asian, black, mixed or ‘other’ ethnic groups. This compares to 14 per cent of England as a whole. Therefore, to make sure Londoners feel represented and able to take part in the city’s cultural life, the GLA will actively deliver events and cultural programmes for these audiences. Through the delivery of these, we are not only providing space for celebrations of specific groups and communities, but we are giving a visible signal that all of London’s citizens matter.

1.12.    A city’s ability to attract people, capital and enterprise, global perceptions of brand reputation and appeal, as well as long-term economic performance are key components of being a world-leading global city. Cultural experience and liveability are significant contributors to this with culture being the reason that four out of five tourists visit London. The creative economy generates £51.7 billion for the UK each year, accounts for one in five jobs and brings people together in times of challenge and celebration. Hosting major events and providing diverse culture offerings are therefore critical to maintaining London’s position as a world-leading global city.

1.13.    The Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London delivery plan aims to ensure that London is for everyone – a place where respect and equality is promoted, and where everyone can celebrate their culture, heritage and creativity. It has four strands:

•    celebrating and honouring specific communities though hosting and supporting a range of events and emblematic projects that reflect our diverse communities
•    celebrating all of London through diverse cultural offerings that focus on local communities across the breadth of London
•    delivering major events of global and national significance
•    promoting volunteering to enable Londoners to participate more directly in London’s cultural offer.

1.14.    The proposed delivery plan sets out the budget for each project within the programme.

1.15.    Projects detailed in the delivery plan fall into one of three categories:

•    projects which are already set out in detail in an existing Mayoral Decision or Director Decision 
•    projects for which this Mayoral Decision seeks Mayoral delegation to the SRO to take expenditure decisions  
•    projects which will require separate Mayoral Decisions.

1.16.    The projects with Mayoral Decisions and other relevant approvals already in place are:  

•    hosting or supporting a range of events which recognise, honour and celebrate London’s diversity – approved under MD3351
•    delivering emblematic projects such as the memorial to victims of transatlantic slavery, the HIV/Aids memorial and QEII Memorial – approved under MD2814 and DD2608
•    celebrating London’s diverse cultural offering, namely London’s Borough of Culture (including Liberty Festival), the Fourth Plinth, World Cities Culture Forum (for 2025-26) and London’s Museum – approved under MD3113, MD3193, ADD2752, MD3056, MD3201 respectively
•    helping to deliver globally and nationally significant major events, namely Notting Hill Carnival and Pride – approved under MD3347 and MD2984.

1.17.    Projects for which this Mayoral Decision seeks Mayoral delegation to the SRO to take expenditure decisions are:

•    Mayor’s Community Weekend events (£50,000 in 2025-26; £50,000 2027-28)
•    volunteering deployment (£130,000 in each year 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28)
•    an uplift to the delivery of the Liberty Festival budget by £20,000 in each year 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 
•    an uplift of £379,700 to the delivery of the approved New Year’s Eve 2025-26 gross budget and an additional £723,000 in reserves funding to be drawn down if necessary.

1.18.    Two projects will require separate Mayoral Decisions due to the potential for event scope and budget to change over the years of this delivery plan. They are: 

•    New Year’s Eve 2026-27 and 2027-28
•    Notting Hill Carnival 2026-27 and 2027-28.

1.19.    The Executive Director, Strategy and Communications, will ensure compliance with the obligations set out in The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 which describe when written records of decisions and their content need to be published. Director Decisions and Assistant Director Decisions will be required where appropriate to meet these transparency requirements, including in instances where GLA funds are paid to external organisations.

Transfers to/from other programmes

1.20.    Development of this delivery plan has prompted refinements to the published budget. As a consequence, Mayoral approval is sought for budget transfers between this and other programmes, in accordance with GLA governance processes.

1.21.    Funding for Major Sporting Events was included within the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London programme when the GLA 2025-26 budget was approved in March 2025. It has since been decided that it is more appropriate for this activity to be included within the Boosting London’s Growth Sectors programme. This MD seeks approval to transfer this funding accordingly.

1.22.    Funding for the volunteer website awareness and EDI reward and recognition projects were included within the Supporting and Inspiring London programme when the GLA 2025-26 budget was approved in March 2025. It has since been decided that it is more appropriate for these projects to be included within the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London programme. This MD seeks approval to transfer this funding accordingly.

1.23.    Funding for the Mayor’s Community Weekend and Liberty Festival projects were included within the Reducing Inequalities programme when the GLA 2025-26 budget was approved in March 2025. It has since been decided that it is more appropriate for these projects to be included within the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London delivery programme. This MD seeks approval to transfer this funding accordingly.

1.24.    Funding for staffing costs for the London Borough of Culture project were included within the Helping Local Economies to Thrive programme when the GLA 2025-26 budget was approved in March 2025. It has since been decided that it is more appropriate for this project to be included within the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London programme. This MD seeks approval to transfer this funding accordingly.

1.25.    Funding for commemorative and small events were included within the ‘Core’ budget when the GLA 2025-26 budget was approved in March 2025. It has since been decided that it is more appropriate for these activities to be included within the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London programme. This MD seeks approval to transfer this funding accordingly.

Securing additional funding for projects in the delivery plan

1.26.    Key to meeting the objectives and expected outcomes of the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London delivery plan is securing funding to support the delivery of both new and existing projects. This funding may come from central government, but may also come from other sources including agencies, utilities providers, philanthropic funders and the private sector. 

1.27.    Where additional funding from government (or other sources) is secured in the future to expand or extend existing approved projects contained in the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London delivery plan, and the parameters remain the same or similar as originally agreed with government (or the relevant body), this decision form seeks approval to delegate to the Executive Director, Strategy and Communications to agree the receipt of such funding after consulting with legal advisors and the GLA’s Chief Finance Officer and subsequently having secured agreement from the MDB. For the purposes of considering whether the parameters are similar as originally agreed with government (or the relevant body), the Executive Director, Strategy and Communications will have regard to whether the outcomes to be delivered have changed significantly or there is a significant change in attendant risks of the original scheme. If the outcomes to be delivered have changed significantly or there is a significant change in attendant risks, or the decision is viewed as novel, contentious or repercussive, a Mayoral Decision will be required.

1.28.    Any decisions to accept additional funding will need to comply with the obligations set out in The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 as highlighted in paragraph 1.19 above. Any decisions to accept additional funding that do not require a formal decision form must be documented via a Record in Writing, as defined in MD3274 'Updates to GLA Governance Documents’, signed in June 2024, and will be reported publicly quarterly.
 

2.1.    The delivery plan for the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London programme describes how the GLA will deploy the Mayor’s and the GLA’s convening power, the GLA’s control of strategic sites such as Trafalgar and Parliament Squares, investment in a variety of events of global and national significance, and cultural offerings which reflect the breadth of London’s diversity.

2.2.    The objectives and expected outcomes of the programme are set out in the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London delivery plan which is appended as Appendix 2.

2.3.    The core London-level outcomes to which this programme will contribute are: Londoners feel able to take part in the city’s cultural life; and London is a world-leading global city. This reflects the importance of celebrating the diversity of London, as well as the impact the creative economy has on London and the UK’s economy.

2.4.    The Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London programme will also make a substantive contribution to the London-level outcome that London is an attractive and high-quality destination for visitors.
 

3.1.    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, the Mayor and GLA must comply with the public sector equality duty (PSED) and must have due regard to the need to:

•    eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act
•    advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not
•    foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2.    The ‘protected characteristics’ are: age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership (but only in respect of the requirements to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination), race (ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality), religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, and sexual orientation. 

3.3.    Consideration of the PSED is not a one-off task. The duty must be fulfilled before taking a decision, at the time of taking a decision, and after the decision has been taken, to ensure that equalities impacts are kept under ongoing review.

3.4.    The Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London delivery plan helps achieve a number of the Mayor’s statutory equality objectives, and progress on delivery of these objectives is reported on each year in the Mayor’s Annual Equality Report.

3.5.    This delivery plan contributes to objective 13 of the Mayor’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy (2022)1 (EDI Strategy 2022): That Londoners from all walks of life feel heard, and see themselves reflected in the public realm. It also contributes to objective 14 of the EDI Strategy 2022: To ensure London's diverse communities have the knowledge, networks, and volunteering opportunities they need to thrive.

3.6.    The events programme is inclusive and aimed at all Londoners. This is achieved through the programme content; the broad and targeted approach to marketing channels; and accessible facilities at the event, which aim specifically to reduce the barriers to attendance by people with disabilities or mobility issues. The events help people to feel part of our city and bring communities together, supporting social integration. They are also a chance for individuals to better understand their fellow Londoners; and they support engagement with the city’s wide range of faith and community groups. 

3.7.    Many of the events within the programme engage directly with specific community stakeholder groups in their planning and highlight the contribution of specific communities – for example, Vaisakhi (Sikh community), St Patrick’s Day (Irish community), Eid (Muslim community) and Diwali (Hindu community).  

3.8.    These principles are also applied to our memorials and other cultural projects for example the HIV/AIDS memorial project is ensuring the voices of those directly affected by HIV/AIDS are involved in shaping design and decision-making processes and that their stories will be visible and remembered in London’s public realm. The Mayor’s support of a new memorial to victims of transatlantic slavery can only be delivered through strong, central engagement with Londoners, particularly those who are from descendent communities.

3.9.    Other flagship cultural programmes such as London Borough of Culture, Liberty Festival and the Fourth Plinth programme will also support this priority through their programme design, community engagement and audience development strategies. This includes targeted commissioning opportunities and platforms to showcase less well represented artists and organisations including D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists and audiences.

3.10.    The Mayor’s Volunteering programme works with the sector to develop equitable structures to make volunteering in London more accessible through local partnerships, sector-led groups such as the London Volunteering Strategy Group and events such as The Mayor’s Community Weekend to celebrate the strength and diversity of London’s communities. The Volunteer review has also considered how to continue to make any future volunteer deployments more accessible and beneficial for all Londoners.  
 

Risks and issues

4.1.    The following programme-level risks to the delivery of the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London programme have been identified:

4.2.    The Executive Director, Strategy and Communications, as the SRO for the programme will be responsible for implementing and overseeing a risk framework for the programme. Project risks and mitigations will be managed as currently at a project level and reported periodically to the Programme Board. The Programme Board will also review the above programme-level risks and mitigations, reporting to the Mayoral Delivery Board alongside progress against programme objectives as part of the GLA's quarterly reporting regime. 

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.3.    The programmes outlined in this decision support the following Mayoral strategies: 

•    Culture for All Londoners, the Mayor’s strategy for culture, which outlines an ambitious vision to ensure all Londoners can engage with and contribute to the capital’s rich cultural offering on their doorstep.  
•    Inclusive London, the Mayor’s equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, which sets out that a successful city needs to work well for all residents. Everyone should be able to share in its prosperity, culture and community life – regardless of age, social class, disability, race, religion, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.
•    All of Us, the Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy, which aims to improve social integration in London. This means enabling people to have more opportunities to connect with each other positively and meaningfully; and supporting Londoners to play an active part in their communities and the decisions that affect them. It involves reducing barriers and inequalities, so that Londoners can relate to each other as equals.  
•    All of Us also proposes using sport, volunteering, arts and culture as powerful tools for social integration; and establishing London’s reputation as a welcoming city for newcomers from other parts of the UK and abroad, with opportunities to feel a strong connection and positive sense of belonging to the city in which they are living.
•    City for all Londoners: making London a fairer city – one that is open and accessible to all, and one in which we can all live and prosper free from prejudice. This enables all Londoners to benefit from the city’s fantastic arts and culture.

Consultations

4.4.    For projects which already have a formal decision form in place, the consultation undertaken for these projects is set out in the relevant decision forms.

4.5.    The level and timing of consultation will vary for those projects not requiring a subsequent formal decision form. This will be a mixture of informal consultation with key stakeholders, as well as formal consultation.  

4.6.    Where further Mayoral Decision forms will be required to progress the projects in the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London delivery plan, consultation will be undertaken where appropriate; this will be shaped through engagement with relevant stakeholders such as delivery partners, community stakeholders and advisory groups.

4.7.    There are no conflicts of interest arising from those involved in the drafting and clearance of this decision form. As and when individual conflicts of interest arise during the delivery of initiatives contained in the Supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London delivery plan, they will be handled in line with the GLA policy on registering and declaring interests.
 

5.1.    The programme budget is set out in the delivery plan and summarised in the table below:

5.2.    The budget allocated to this delivery plan is presented in the GLA: Mayor budget 2025-26 approved on 31 March 2025 under MD3330 as below:

5.3.    Budget will be transferred between this programme’s delivery plan and other programmes’ delivery plans in accordance with our governance processes, subject to Mayoral approval of this Mayoral Decision, as follows:

5.4.    The budget will be updated to reflect reserve transfers, fundraising and external income, subject to Mayoral approval of this Mayoral Decision, as follows: 

5.5.    The budget set out at paragraph 5.1 reflects the net effect of the budget amendments listed in tables 5.3 and 5.4.

5.6.    Budgets for delivering major events of global and national significance, as set out in paragraph 5.1, are detailed in Part 2.

5.7.    Any budget commitments for future years are subject to the annual budget setting process.

5.8.    Any future transfers and movements within the budget for this programme, or between this and other programmes, will be handled in accordance with the GLA’s governance processes. 

5.9.    The delivery plans for several projects in this programme rely on receiving income from other areas (including but not limited to grant, sponsorship, concessions income and ticket income) to apply to the event to enhance and/or cover operational or delivery costs. These are estimated in the delivery plan, but this decision is also to approve seeking and receiving that additional income. Any income received will be accounted for in the year it is generated.
 

6.1.    Under section 30(1) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (the GLA Act), the Mayor acting on behalf of the GLA has the power to do anything that he considers will further any one or more of the GLA’s principal purposes, which are:

•    promoting economic development and wealth creation in Greater London
•    promoting social development in Greater London
•    promoting the improvement of the environment in Greater London. 

6.2.    In deciding whether or how to exercise the general power in section 30(1), section 30 (4) of the GLA Act requires the GLA to have regard to the effect which the proposed exercise of the power would have on:

•    the health of persons in Greater London
•    health inequalities between persons living in Greater London
•    the achievement of sustainable development in the UK
•    climate change, and the consequences of climate change. 

6.3.    Where the GLA exercises the power under section 30(1), pursuant to section 30(5) it must do so in the way which it considers best calculated to:

•    promote improvements in the health of persons in Greater London
•    promote the reduction of health inequalities between persons living in Greater London
•    contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom
•    contribute towards the mitigation of, or adaptation to, climate change, in the United Kingdom.

6.4.    The GLA must also make arrangements with a view to securing that in the exercise of the power in section 30(1) there is due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people in accordance with section 33 of the GLA Act and consult with such bodies or persons as the GLA may consider appropriate in this particular case in accordance with section 32 of the GLA Act.

6.5.    Under section 34 of the GLA Act, the GLA, acting by the Mayor, the Assembly, or both jointly, may do anything that is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of any functions of the GLA exercisable by the Mayor; or, as the case may be, by the Assembly, or by both acting jointly. The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the GLA’s powers under section 30 and section 34 of the GLA Act. 

6.6.    Under section 38 of the GLA Act, any function exercisable by the Mayor on behalf of the GLA may also be exercised by a member of the GLA’s staff – albeit subject to any conditions that the Mayor sees fit to impose. To this end, the Mayor may make the requested delegation to the Executive Director, Strategy and Communications, subject to the conditions and requirements set out in this Mayoral Decision. 

6.7.    Section 31 of the GLA Act places limits on the general power and prohibits the GLA from incurring expenditure on anything which may be done by TfL, MOPAC or the LFC.

6.8.    In taking the decisions requested of him, the Mayor must comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) contained in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section three (above) of this report.

6.9.    If the Mayor makes the decisions sought, officers must also ensure that:

•    no reliance is placed on, nor commitments made in reliance of:
-    third party funding until legally binding commitments are secured for it and officers are satisfied that their proposed use of the same aligns with any conditions of award
-    future budgets remaining subject to the outcome of the budget setting process for future financial years, until those budget setting exercises are completed
-    “returned funding” without confirmation that it can be used as proposed and, where applicable, liaising with third party funders and varying current GLA funding agreements to reflect the reallocation of funding
•    where applicable, the Subsidy Control Act 2022 is observed
•    where expenditure concerns: 
-    purchase of services: they are procured in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code (the “Code”) and where applicable the Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”); officers liaise with Transport for London’s procurement and supply chain team, which will determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in accordance with the Code and the Act; and put in place appropriate contractual documentation and ensure it is executed by the chosen service provider and GLA before the commencement of those services 
-    the award of grant funding such awards are made fairly, transparently, in accordance with the GLA’s equalities requirements and with the requirements of GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code and funding agreements are put in place between and executed by the GLA and recipients before any commitment to fund is made.

6.10.    If the Mayor makes the decisions sought, the Executive Director, Strategy and Communications must comply with the obligations set out in The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 when taking decisions in accordance with the delegations set out in this decision form or any other delegations in existing Mayoral Decisions. In particular regulation 7 which provides that where a decision has been delegated to an officer either (a) under a specific express authorisation or (b) under a general authorisation and the effect of the decision is to award a contract or incur expenditure which, in either case, materially affects the GLA’s financial position, the officer to whom the delegation has been made must produce a written record of the decision (regulation 7(1) and (2)). Regulation 7(3) provides that the written record must be produced as soon as reasonably practicable after the decision has been taken and must contain the date the decision was taken, a record of the decision taken with reasons, details of options considered and rejected, if any, and where a decision is delegated under a specific express authorisation, any conflicts of interest. Regulation 8 requires the written record, together with any background papers, must as soon as reasonably practicable after the record is made, be made available for inspection by members of the public including on the GLA’s website.
 

7.1.    Timelines are as set out in the delivery plan appended as Appendix 2.