The Society of London Theatre (SOLT), the organisation behind Official London Theatre, is leading the way to ensure that London theatre is ‘Games Ready’ this summer.
Working hard on behalf of the London theatre industry in preparation for the Olympic summer, SOLT has been busy ensuring that the capital’s many new and regular visitors will be able to enjoy the range of extraordinary shows on offer and that the West End remains a vivacious hub of entertainment. Casts from West End shows are wearing SOLT’s Don’t Miss The Real Show pins and SOLT’s award-winning tkts booth in Leicester Square is displaying Don’t Miss The Real Show window stickers and branding with pride.
In a recent survey conducted at the end of SOLT’s hugely popular Get Into London Theatre promotion, 24% of people asked said they would definitely see a show during the Olympic period, while 51% said they were undecided. Many who weren’t definite said travel was causing them concern so Official London Theatre has collaborated with Transport for London (TfL) to create a handy guide to help theatregoers plan the best way to travel to theatres this summer. The concern over travel was reflected in the findings of a survey recently conducted by What’s On Stage and we are delighted that the website is backing the Don’t Miss The Real Show campaign and promoting Official London Theatre’s Transport for London travel guide to get the message out to support London theatre this summer. A positive for theatregoers is that the majority of West End theatres are in walking distances of a mainline station and the transport network will be running extra services with many routes extending working hours to 01:30.
In addition to working with TfL, SOLT has been collaborating with The Sanctuary Spa and Madame Tussauds London to find ways of encouraging London’s commuters to stay in London longer and travel home at different times during the Olympics. It is hoped that these incentives, which will be revealed later this spring, will help free up travel hotspots at peak times by changing regular commuter travel patterns. More information about incentives being offered to commuters can be found at GetAheadOfTheGames.com
Official London Theatre has also entered into a partnership with official Olympic Games news site Inside The Games. Official London Theatre is the site’s official theatre partner, providing the hottest information on Theatreland to the Olympic audience and promoting Inside The Games’ Olympic information to theatregoers.
More details of all the exciting activities planned to celebrate this historic summer will be announced at a PR launch on 18 April in collaboration with the Mayor’s office and LOCOG’s 2012 Festival, an important date in the Olympic calendar as it marks 100 days to go before The Games begin.