Our bid to win London Borough of Culture 2021
The London Borough of Culture
The London Borough of Culture forms part of the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s plans to support the arts in London.
The competition is open to all 32 London boroughs. The winner receives more than £1 million of funding to stage an ambitious programme of cultural events.
The competition is now in its second year. In 2018 the winners were:
- the London Borough of Waltham Forest, the current title-holders for 2019
- the London Borough of Brent, who will hold the title in 2020.
This time, two more boroughs will be named London Borough of Culture, one for 2021 and one for 2023.
Up to six other boroughs will get support to deliver bespoke cultural projects.
Our creative ageing festival
Although we didn’t win last time, we were awarded a £216,000 Cultural Impact Award to deliver the Age against the Machine festival of creative ageing from 13 September to 6 October 2019.
Why Lewisham?
Culture is who we are. We celebrate diversity and embrace innovation like no other London borough.
Our culture is not only in our theatres, art galleries, museums, parks and music venues, but around every street corner. It’s in our broadways, lanes, markets, villages, cottages and housing estates, and it’s in the 300,000 people who call Lewisham home. We know that culture has the power to create change and help address some of the issues that we face as a borough. We want culture to bring people from different communities together.
Watch our London Borough of Culture bid film
What being the London Borough of Culture will do for Lewisham
Becoming the next London Borough of Culture will let us shine a light on Lewisham and ensure that everyone in the borough and beyond can experience our cultural richness.
Support our bid
We need your support to make it happen.
- Back the bid now and tell your friends, family and workmates to do it too!
- Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @IAmLewisham.
- Use the hashtags #IAmLewisham and #MyLocalCulture to unearth the hidden gems the borough has to offer.
- Select a social media image and change your profile picture so everyone can see you’re backing the bid.