Ealing Council Launches Borough of Culture Bid
Success would bring extra funding for local creative efforts
A montage of Ealing cultural locations and activities. Picture: Ealing Council
October 26, 2023
The leader of Ealing Council, Cllr Peter Mason, has announced that a bid is to be made to become the London Borough of Culture for 2025.
This is a programme led by the Mayor of London which provides funding for cultural and creative programmes in a local authority area every two years.
He disclosed the bid while welcoming the long-awaited opening of the Picturehouse Cinema in the centre of Ealing saying, “Our rich culture today is, of course, about more than just this fantastic cinematic heritage. Music, performing arts, a diverse programme of events and a passion for creativity and storytelling showcasing the unique identities of our communities. But, while other major cities such as Birmingham and Liverpool may try to compete with us to be recognised as the home of British Bhangra (thanks to Southall) or the ‘Home of Loud’ (thanks to Hanwell’s links to Marshall), Ealing will always be the undisputed home of British cinema.”
If successful, the borough will receive £1.35 million to help host a series of events over the course of the year.
The programme was initiated in 2017 and currently Croydon is the London Borough of Culture with Brent, Waltham Forest and Lewisham having been previous winners.
Waltham Forest was the first winner and it claims to have attracted 500,000 visitors and left a legacy, with Fellowship Square becoming a cultural hub of festivals and programming. In Brent a worldwide audience of 13.3million tuned in for a podcast series created by young people in the borough and for every £1 spent by Brent Council, it says an additional £2 was raised from other funders. In Lewisham, the council says there was £1.1m in additional spend in the local area and more than 8,000 young people were supported with training and careers advice to access jobs in the creative sector. These boroughs have also established long-lasting legacies with the reopening of the Broadway Theatre in Lewisham, and the brand new Soho Theatre Walthamstow.
Ealing has been relatively slow out of the blocks with other contenders already announcing their bid including Wandsworth which launched its campaign back in June and Newham. Final bids are due to be submitted in November with the winners to be announced early next year.
Cllr Mason added, “Culture, arts and creativity. These mean different things to different people. But they are also the things that bring us all together. The stories told through art and cultural activities create better understanding and help to build stronger communities.
“Last year, when the council produced its cultural manifesto, I was struck by the passion, creativity and energy of people, the cultural organisations and those working in creative industries throughout the borough. The need for more spaces, more places and, above all, the need for more opportunities for everyone to be creative in whatever form they choose was voiced loud and clear.
“That’s why I’m excited to announce that Ealing is bidding to be the London Borough of Culture 2025. We will be competing with other London boroughs but, if our bid is successful, additional funding and the creative energy released will be a great opportunity to deliver on these ambitions and build even stronger, more vibrant communities.
“I urge you to get behind the bid so that, in 2025, we can celebrate what makes our borough so special.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said of the borough of culture programme, “It has shown us the genuine power of culture to transform people’s lives, reimagine areas, raise confidence and create civic pride. It has brought diverse communities together, given grassroots creativity the chance to shine and shown how culture can inspire and unleash the potential of young Londoners, leaving a long-lasting legacy. I look forward to seeing the creativity of our boroughs shine through in their bids as we work to build a better and fairer London for everyone.”
The council is planning to launch a new web site for the bid which will also allow residents to show their support and share ideas.
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