London Bridge
is set for an additional £100m spend by 2025 following the launch today of the first
ever culture strategy for London Bridge backed by organisations including the
Imperial War Museum, Tower Bridge, Greater London Authority and Southwark Council.
The
London Bridge Culture Strategy is expected to increase visitors to the area
to 15m by 2025 and has been led by Team London Bridge, the Business
Improvement District [BID] representing over 400 businesses in north Southwark.
The new contemporary
cultural programming will showcase London Bridge as a leading place for global
commerce; a growing area for enterprise, culture and entertainment and home to
a community of businesses ranging from multi-national companies, to art
galleries. It will also seek to strengthen the area as a leading destination
for inward investment with a strong cultural offering that will add value to
their operations and boost employee satisfaction.
Visitors will
be able to experience the new cultural hub with the launch of the Science
Gallery London and return of the Southwark Playhouse. They will join the
existing rich cultural tapestry and popular attractions comprising Tower
Bridge, HMS Belfast, The Shard and the Unicorn Theatre.
Through a
culture programme balancing experiential changes in public spaces and a
commitment to supporting culture and creative industries, London Bridge has
today set forth a vision and approach that will inspire stakeholders to stay, invest
and attract new businesses to the area.
The Culture Strategy
was led by Team London Bridge and devised by Sherry Dobbin. A new culture
programme will be developed by the newly appointed Arts Director Ellie Beedham
and will reflect the important moments for London, through temporary artistic
innovation of static and performing arts.
Stage one of
this plan launched today at London Bridge Station – a creative intervention
through performance art on the station concourse, as Yoko Ono’s IMAGINE PEACE
was screened on the electric billboards, animated by a professional choir of one
hundred singing John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Imagine under the musical and
staging direction of conductor/artist Esmeralda Conde Ruiz.
Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries,
Mayor of London says of the cultural strategy launch:
“Culture is an
essential ingredient for our cities. As well as generating tourism and boosting
the economy, culture brings us together and helps define the places we love.
Having great transport and efficient roads alone isn’t enough - cities also
need a soul, so threading culture through all aspects of city life is key. Team
London Bridge’s culture strategy brings businesses and cultural organisations
together, to make sure London Bridge thrives as a vital part of our capital.”
Yoko Ono says of the collaboration with Team London
Bridge, “Art, music and
words are a powerful combination that help us come together and IMAGINE PEACE
at home and all over the world. I’m very pleased to be contributing the
placement of art and culture into the heart of London Bridge. A dream you dream
alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together is reality. Imagine all the
people living life in peace.”
Daniel
Glaser, Director, Science Gallery London at King’s College London, “When King’s College London opens Science Gallery
London in 2018, it joins the likes of HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge and the Bridge
Theatre in an area of existing rich cultural importance. The London Bridge
Culture Strategy devised by Team London Bridge will ingrain the values and
aspirations of this community into future plans, with the potential to capture
the imagination of internationally acclaimed artists and scientists to showcase
this unique area to the world.
Sherry
Dobbin, cultural strategist for Team London Bridge, “The London Bridge
Culture Strategy sets out a powerful vision for a Business Improvement District
to nurture and co-create ambitious and diverse cultural programming. We invite
the cultural sector to discover and animate London Bridge's array of ‘stages’
from iconic vistas of the city, green spaces to bridges, side streets and
stations in unexpected ways through performances, installations and
events."
Simon Howell, Chair, Team London Bridge, “Our mission is to fulfil London Bridge’s potential as a destination
‘to go to’ not to ‘go through’. Thousands of visitors from commuters to
residents and tourists come to London Bridge everyday and our new culture
programme will provide compelling and enticing reasons for them to visit and
stay longer. London Bridge has the potential to become a welcoming destination
for all visitors at all hours and help boost London’s economy to the tune of
£100m by 2025.”
Ian
Hanson, South East stations director, Network Rail, said: “The rebuilt London Bridge station with
its huge new concourse and stunning architecture is fast-becoming a London
icon. Throughout the reconstruction we worked closely with our partners
including Team London Bridge to keep the local area open for business, so it’s
great that we’re now working together to bring the station to life for
passengers and visitors alike through this new culture strategy.”