Please note that this event has already occured.
Key information
Date: September 2023
Venue: Trafalgar Square, Westminster, London, WC2N 5DN, GB
Cost: Free
About the event
Celebrate Black culture and creativity with music, spoken word and dance at Black on the Square, brought to you by the Mayor of London.
Immerse yourself in the vitality and originality of London’s Black culture and creativity. Enjoy jazz, rap and soul as we platform legendary voices, pioneers and new talent.
The breadth of London’s Black nightlife scene will be showcased through DJ sets and live music hosted by club nights and music collectives taking to the stage. See showcases, performances, by headline act ENNY, DJ sets from the likes of Touching Bass, Art Beyond the Shell, MOBO Unsung, Shortee Blitz, BXKS, The Spit Game UK and more. All hosted by Rinse FM's Goldie Quaker.
There will also be documentaries and films by the likes of Aliyah Hasinah and Rakiya Hasan, and an unmissable exhibition by Jennie Baptiste examining the Black British experience through the lens of photography,
This brand new, free celebration will take place on Saturday 2 September from 12:00pm - 6:00pm in Trafalgar Square. You won’t want to miss it.
All under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.
Mayor of London walkaround
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Programme
Hosted by Goldie Quaker…
- Screenings by;
- Aliyah Hasinah – documentaries
- Rakiya Hasan – film short
- Abdi Alasow – photo montage
- Performances by (in order of appearance);
- Bea Anderson (MOBO Unsung)
- Melica (MOBO Unsung)
- Nelissa Mendy (poetry)
- Special jazz performance
- Touching Bass
- Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy
- Art Beyond The Shell feat Dualeh Oke & DJ Sonia Sol
- BXKS
- ENNY - headline act
- Shortee Blitz
- The Spit Game UK
- Queer Bruk
The program has been developed by our commissioned Creative Programmer, fynn studio.*
Post-event survey
Congratulations to our survey winners, who were picked at random, and have been notified, receiving up to £500 worth of high street vouchers, for completing the survey.
We’d still love to receive your feedback and opinion if you attended the event. Simply click the button above!
Stalls galore
You will be treated to a plethora of stalls, including art and culture, books from around the world, accessories inspired by Somali prints, arts and crafts, face painting, live screen printing and handmade fabrics.
Also on offer is fine food and drink, from vegan roti, jollof rice, and cold pressed juices, to vegan ice-creams, traditional goat curry, and moi moi.
Access and transport
.
You can plan your journey with TfL’s Journey Planner
National Rail - planned industrial action, train strikes is taking place
- Usually, the nearest railway station is Charing Cross. It is 325 metres away, approximately three minutes’ walk. Charing Cross rail station offers step-free access and a step-free route to Trafalgar Square. However the current status link shows the National Service Indicators for Train Operating Companies, and details of incidents currently affecting service to help you plan alternative routes:
Bus
- Routes 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 23, 24, 53, 77A, 88, 91, 139, 159, 176 and 453.
- All these routes lead to Trafalgar Square. However, 9 and 15 are heritage buses and do not have a low-floor.
- Visit the TfL website for more information on buses.
Tube
- The nearest Underground station with step-free access from platform to street level is Westminster. This is served by the Jubilee, District and Circle lines. Outside Westminster station buses 12, 24, 88 or 453 have low-floor buses which call at a stop within 150m of Trafalgar Square.
- Charing Cross Underground station is served by the Northern and Bakerloo lines. It is the closest Tube station. However, it does not have step-free access.
- Visit the TfL website for accessible Tube maps.
Dial-a-ride
- Find out about registering and pre-booking Dial-a-ride services.
The nearest Blue Badge parking spaces to Trafalgar Square are:
- St Martin’s Street – five spaces - 321 metres from Trafalgar Square
- Outside Canada House – one space - 33 metres from Trafalgar Square
- Suffolk Street – one space - 644 metres from Trafalgar Square
- Spring Gardens – one space - 321 metres from Trafalgar Square
To find other blue badge parking bays nearby, please search the City of Westminster’s website using the postcode WC2N 5DN.
To see where the bays are, click the ‘View results on a map’ button on the search results page.
- Wheelchair accessible public toilets are available on the lower terrace of Trafalgar Square. This is on the west side of the square to the left of the central staircase. These will be open and free of charge during the event.
- Trafalgar Square’s cafe is wheelchair accessible and has a low-level counter and induction loop. Free drinking water is available at the east side water drinking fountain.
- BSL Interpreters will be present on the main stage. A picture in picture will also be displayed in the right hand corner of the 40ft screen which is positioned on the left side of the main stage.
- Accessible routes and ramping - event stewards will be available to help wheelchair users travelling between the upper (north terrace) and the lower terrace levels of Trafalgar Square.
- The accessible viewing area will be at the top of the central staircase. Some seating will be available for companions the viewing area, and for those less able to stand. An area with hearing loop will be available.
Event location map
51.508069996612, -0.12813877010207
Event sponsors
Community Advisory Group
- Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE, Chair of the Community Advisory Group and Principal and CEO of The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
- Kojo Marfo (Vice Chair), Founder, My Runway Group
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Adrian Gardner, Producer (Inclusion & Outreach), Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
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Amani Simpson, Founder, AVIARD Inspires
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Ayan Mahamoud MBE, Founder and Director, Kayd Somali Arts
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Azieb Pool, Artistic Director and CEO, Bernie Grants Art Centre
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Kemi Alemoru, Culture Editor and Freelance Writer
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Sasha Salmon, Head of Strategy and Operations, Public Policy Team, Meta
*fynn studio is a London based arts curation and creative direction collective that specialises in producing creative projects focused on celebrating and recognising community. Known for curating a series of rave culture exhibitions fynn studio’s founder became the first black curator at Saatchi Gallery in 2019 and has worked with a host of DJs that includes SHERELLE, Fabio And Grooverider, Carl Cox, Pawsa and Seth Troxler.
Talk London - help us shape the event
Join the conversation on City Hall’s online community, Talk London, and give us your best ideas for this upcoming celebration.
We want to know:
- which creatives, artists or organisations you would like to see represented
- what you think City Hall could do to support Black creativity and culture in London in 2023 and beyond.
