Waltham Forest and Brent have been named the first ever London Boroughs of Culture. Each borough will be awarded £1.35 million of funding to go towards a programme of cultural activities in a scheme inspired by the UK City and European Capital of Culture schemes.
Waltham Forest will be the inaugural London Borough of Culture in 2019, followed by Brent in 2020. A total of 22 boroughs submitted bids to win the accolade, which places culture at the heart of communities and celebrates the unique character of each location and its residents.
Commenting on Brent’s success, local London Assembly Member Navin Shah AM said: “I am thrilled Brent has been picked as the 2020 London Borough of Culture. This opens up so many exciting opportunities for local people, and I can’t wait to see the £1 million award go towards unlocking the huge talent and creativity in our community.
“Brent Council’s bid includes a huge summertime street party for 200,000 people with 16 pop-up visual arts, dance, theatre and music commissions. It also includes a large-scale not for profit media pilot project called Brent Lives and there are plans to turn Brent into an open-air museum for 2020 for local people, Londoners and tourists from further afield. This a true recognition of Brent’s rich diversity and the excellent record it has as a leading borough when it comes to culture, arts and innovation.”
