Today Sadiq Khan announces the ‘biggest domestic tourism campaign the capital has ever seen’, as he’s signed in for second term as London Mayor.
Joined on the Shakespeare’s Globe stage by British actor and director Adrian Lester, Khan confirmed his top priorities including jobs, London’s recovery and continued prioritisation of long-standing issues including safer streets, more affordable housing and action to tackle air pollution and the climate emergency.
To support London’s recovery, Khan launched his new ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign, created in partnership with the city’s hospitality, culture and retail industries. Society Of London Theatre, the company our Official London Theatre team work for, played an integral part in helping to shape this new campaign through work with the Mayor’s office, London and Partners and the London Tourism Recovery Board.
The flagship ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign will feature a programme of one-off special events including public art installations, a living forest at Somerset House – planted by Olivier Award-winning designer Es Devlin and we’ll see the Royal Opera House ‘Unlocked’ with a takeover of Covent Garden’s piazza.
British actor and director Adrian Lester CBE, said: “This has been the toughest year in decades for our incredible cultural and creative sectors but I’m certain that London’s theatres, music venues and cultural attractions will be vital to London’s economic recovery from Covid-19 this year.
“It is exciting to see the Mayor and so many of the capital’s venues come together to put on a truly wonderful programme of events and activities that should encourage people back into London in large numbers.
“As creative artists we depend enormously on our fans and the visitors who want to see us perform. I have no doubt that at the heart of London’s recovery this year will be people flocking back to our cultural venues”
Neil Constable, CEO of Shakespeare’s Globe, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sadiq Khan to be signed in for his second term as Mayor of London and to launch this vital ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign to encourage the successful reopening of venues, hospitality and leisure activities.
“We at the Globe are eager to see domestic tourists return to our theatres and our bar and restaurant The Swan. With shows, talks, educational activities, tours, a shop, and food and drink, we have so much to offer visitors returning to the capital. From 19 May we reopen with A Midsummer Night’s Dream and we look forward to welcoming audiences in safely to enjoy the thrill of live theatre at last ”
Left to right: Gloria Musso (Swan staff member), Adrian Lester and Mary Harpley (Chief Officer, Greater London Authority) (Photo credit: Pete Le May)
Sadiq Khan announces Let's Do London campaign on stage at the Shakespeare's Globe (Photo credit: Pete Le May)
Left to right: Adrian Lester, Sadiq Khan, Mary Harpley and Gloria Musso (Photo credit: Pete Le May)
Sadiq and Saadiya Khan (Photo credit: Pete Le May)
The Mayor has allocated £6M to directly support the new campaign, in addition to industry contributing over £1m in funding and value-in-kind and said: “It’s an honour to have been re-elected with a huge mandate as Mayor of the city I love – the greatest city in the world. The work begins anew today to refresh and reignite our city and to kick-start our economy as London continues to reopen. This includes making jobs, jobs, jobs a top priority and banging the drum for London to attract the jobs, tourism and investment our city needs.
“Today I am at the iconic Shakespeare’s Globe to launch ‘Let’s Do London’ – the biggest domestic tourism campaign London has ever seen to champion our businesses, cultural institutions and attractions that have suffered so much during the pandemic. This is about getting the message out to Londoners and people across the country that our capital stands ready to entertain, inspire and enthral once again.
“Our new campaign is bringing together many of the capital’s leading organisations and venues to offer an unparalleled experience for anyone visiting the capital throughout the year. With restrictions on international travel likely to continue this year, Londoners and visitors from the UK have a unique opportunity to experience all the capital has to offer without the queues. In doing so you’ll be providing vital support for our world-leading venues as they start to re-open and need our help more than ever.
“My mission over the next three years is to put the dark days of the pandemic behind us and to deliver a better and brighter future for London – creating a fairer, greener and more prosperous city, where everyone gets the opportunities they need to fulfil their potential. As well as focusing on the urgent task of London’s recovery and investing in jobs and skills, I promise to continue putting everything I have into tackling the long-standing issues that matter most to Londoners, including making our streets safer, building more affordable homes and tackling the twin emergencies of air pollution and climate change.”
We very much hope to deliver Kids Week and West End LIVE this Summer to celebrate London Theatres return and encourage visitors back to the city as we know our world class theatres will have a vital role to play. We will be announcing further information as soon as we have confirmation on the Government roadmap that social distancing restrictions will be eased.
For the latest list of shows reopening click here and please ensure you sign up to our emails to be kept up to date. For details of other culture and retail events taking place over the summer visit www.visitlondon.com/letsdolondon.