The line-up for this year’s West End LIVE has been announced, with a record-breaking number of shows, from new musicals to long-running favourites, set to perform at the ninth annual festival.
The free event will take place on 22 and 23 June in Trafalgar Square, where theatre fans can enjoy the very best of London theatre, with special live performances from more than 25 of the capital’s hottest shows including West End musicals Wicked, Disney’s The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Matilda The Musical, The Phantom Of The Opera, Les Misérables, Top Hat, Thriller Live, Jersey Boys, Monty Python’s Spamalot, We Will Rock You and the winner of this year’s BBC Radio 2 Audience Award Billy Elliot The Musical.
Joining the long-running productions on stage at the iconic landmark are many of Theatreland’s more recent additions, as Burn The Floor, The Bodyguard, A Chorus Line, The Golden Voice, High Society, Once, Peter Pan: Never Ending Story, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage, From Here To Eternity, Merrily We Roll Along, The Colour Purple and The Sound Of Music are all set to contribute to the weekend of free entertainment.
The largest event of its type in the UK, West End LIVE, which is organised by the Society of London Theatre – the organisation behind this website – in association with MasterCard, will also feature performances from The Beatles spectacular Let It Be, First World War drama War Horse, percussion sensation Stomp, circus-inspired show Limbo, improvised musical comedy production The Showstoppers and children’s favourite Horrible Histories.
Talking about the record-breaking event, which attracted more than half a million people in 2012,the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “West End LIVE brings the roar of the greasepaint to the heart of the capital and all for free. From curtain up to the encore, London Theatreland is unbeatable and this is a fabulous way to sample some of the most exciting shows to be seen anywhere in the world.”
Sharing Johnson’s excitement for the annual festival, Cllr Robert Davis, deputy leader of Westminster City Council, said: “This will be the largest West End LIVE we have ever produced, with more shows taking part than ever before. From humble beginnings in Leicester Square nine years ago, our event now attracts hundreds of thousands of people from across London, the rest of the UK and from around the globe. We cannot wait to get the weekend started and showcase exactly what the West End of London has to offer – the best art, musicals and theatre in the world.”
As West End LIVE’s official online media partner, you can keep up-to-date with the event via our news section and Twitter feed, where we’ll also be posting updates about the weekend spectacular as it unfolds.