Your cultural life in London

Stage: Evidence gathering

Londoners are less likely than elsewhere in the country to have engaged with arts and culture in the last 12 months. Find out more and tell us your views. You could win access to over 90 attractions with a Go City Pass in our survey prize draw.

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1008 Londoners have responded | 06/06/2024 - 21/07/2024

Londoners at Field Day festival in Victoria Park

Discussion | Your cultural life in London

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City Hall's Culture team wants to better understand how Londoners experience arts and culture across the city, and what prevents them from doing so.

  • What, if anything, would encourage you to experience arts and culture more often in London?
  • What arts and cultural experiences do you wish were more readily available in your area?
  • How do you usually find out about cultural experiences? Where do you look for them?
  • What has been your best experience with arts and culture in London, and why?

Mike from City Hall's Culture team will be reading your comments and joining the discussion below. 

Did you know?

Despite London's iconic arts and cultural venues, Londoners are less likely than residents in other regions in England to have engaged with culture in the last 12 months. Outer Londoners are the least engaged compared to any other English region. 

City Hall’s Culture team is working with Centre for London – an independent think tank – to understand how Londoners feel about culture in the capital. Your comments will help Centre for London create policy recommendations to help make arts and culture more accessible for Londoners.  

The discussion ran from 05 June 2024 - 21 July 2024

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Comments (183)

Avatar for - Sumatran elephant

We talk about London, but London is vast and  travel from outer boroughs like Bromley is long and exhausting. We do not have a tube, and the last Tory administration in Bromley provided very little. I find myself having to travel to other...

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We talk about London, but London is vast and  travel from outer boroughs like Bromley is long and exhausting. We do not have a tube, and the last Tory administration in Bromley provided very little. I find myself having to travel to other boroughs who are more fortunate with cultural provision and workshops. East London, etc. This isn't great or equitable. I don't like travelling late as a woman on my own.

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Avatar for - Tiger

Hi Mike, 


Hope you are really well. I strongly  think that unfortunately my beloved London atm doesn’t have much interesting and exiting culture events!


Especially in terms of Music Event and Music Culture London has seen a massive change...

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Hi Mike, 


Hope you are really well. I strongly  think that unfortunately my beloved London atm doesn’t have much interesting and exiting culture events!


Especially in terms of Music Event and Music Culture London has seen a massive change that affected many venues and clubs. 

London used to be  the city with the most exiting and amazing music events. 

I wanted to launch a project to save music culture in London but unfortunately because issues to find the right venue with the right license (really hard atm as the council is not helping the venues/clubs) didn’t happen yet! 

Through my Music Culture Project I wanted also to help the community offering part of the revenue to support community kids to offer them free music classes.


Today especially because  the massive increase of cost of living the access to music classes for kids could be really hard as parents maybe can’t afford that. 

I wish to create not only a Music Culture event but also to crate a music culture community project free for kids to give them the possibility to learn.


If you would like to look at my project that could massively improve  music culture for Londoners and help kids to have access to music it will be much appreciated if you could get in touch.


That will be amazing for me and also for many kids.

 

Looking forward to hearing back from you. 


Thank you very much 


Davide 

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Avatar for - Adelie penguin

I imagine because of transport difficulties or timing of events.

Avatar for - Monarch butterfly

I have found i so hard and frustrating to work out this web page and it has made me not interested in trying to participate it giving new  ideas it like the question are all  identified at the people who are contributing to the community...

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I have found i so hard and frustrating to work out this web page and it has made me not interested in trying to participate it giving new  ideas it like the question are all  identified at the people who are contributing to the community and not facing the real problem free loaders  in the system ect job seekers ad universal credit are yet again being force to be unheard no changes people from jail who  have studying but will yet again will be shamed for something they have been punished for served there time and will be penalised while people you deemed responsible take advantage of there position if you actually want t make a difference how about feeding the silver spoon to keep ur place and do what right and help the people you claim you are otherwise ur be adventally be seen for what you really are !!!!

 

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Avatar for - Adelie penguin

Possibly because of the number and generality of choices.

Avatar for - Colombian spotted frog

Anyone who wants to experience world-class arts and culture can do so in London. There's no excuse unless someone has a physical limitation.

Avatar for - Monarch butterfly

Not just a 'physical limitation' but also a limitation in one's pocket toward paying for extortionate entrance fees to 'cultures of London'.

Avatar for - Colombian spotted frog

Please see my other post where I give details of cheap/free musical events, such as Wigmore Hall and the opera.

You might also consider that entrance to the Victoria & Albert Museum is free. So are many exhibitions at the Design Museum. So...

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Please see my other post where I give details of cheap/free musical events, such as Wigmore Hall and the opera.

You might also consider that entrance to the Victoria & Albert Museum is free. So are many exhibitions at the Design Museum. So is entrance to the Natural History Museum (including the dinosaurs). So is entrance to the British Museum (which I still haven't seen all of, after years of trying). The Science Museum is free too. Likewise the Horniman Museum. And the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. You can walk through Tate Modern for free. You get the picture.

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Avatar for - Colombian spotted frog

I'm not surprised.  There are so many different things to do in London.  Cost has to be a consideration.  

Avatar for - Tiger

Funnily enough I wrote my Master’s dissertation on how the England’s cultural industry could bounce back after covid by utilising innovative technologies to make these activities more accessible and affordable (I finished it around Sept...

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Funnily enough I wrote my Master’s dissertation on how the England’s cultural industry could bounce back after covid by utilising innovative technologies to make these activities more accessible and affordable (I finished it around Sept 2021 so fairly recent, happy to share if you think it may help?).

One thing I found is that there are/were far better initiatives in cities like Paris to encourage people (especially locals) to go out and experience cultural offerings in the city, and governments in countries like China and Japan really backed their cultural economies and merged digital & cultural policies to keep the industry ticking over throughout the pandemic. England not only lacks governmental support for these kind of initiatives both financially and in terms of passion, but it also lacks the technological skills and infrastructure to widen participation.

Even now in 2024, besides the National Arts Pass and the 2 for 1 offers on National Rail train tickets, I’m not really sure of any other incentives.

Sounds like this could develop into an interesting project, would love to keep track of this!

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Avatar for - Tiger

To answer your questions

  • What, if anything, would encourage you to experience arts and culture more often in London?

Better transport at night, more local events, better protection (recently went to a gig where so many people got pick...

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To answer your questions

  • What, if anything, would encourage you to experience arts and culture more often in London?

Better transport at night, more local events, better protection (recently went to a gig where so many people got pick pocketed for their phones, nothing could be dine about it, went to another where many women were assaulted)
 

  • What arts and cultural experiences do you wish were more readily available in your area?

Comedy. My local pub closed recently which put the comedy night in jeopardy for a little bit, but we need more spaces for that, and theatre as well - local grassroots stuff would be great.

  • How do you usually find out about cultural experiences? Where do you look for them?

Usually instagram or newsletters. Mainly Ticketmaster but they’re controversial

 

  • What has been your best experience with arts and culture in London, and why?

Definitely music concerts. I regularly visit The O2, Wembley, venues in Camden, but again with the O2 and Ticketmaster monopoly, there’s no real competition so prices are outrageous.

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Avatar for -

Hi RSP792 

Thanks for your comments and offer to share your dissertation with us. 

You're very welcome to send it to our inbox [email protected] and we'll share it with Mike and colleagues in the Culture team.

Many thanks,

Talk London

Avatar for - Monarch butterfly

Being a pensioner holding London's much valued and appreciated Freedom Pass for public transport it occurs to me that another added benefit for encouraging OAPs to healthily get out-and-about would be a 'Freedom Pass to cultural events'...

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Being a pensioner holding London's much valued and appreciated Freedom Pass for public transport it occurs to me that another added benefit for encouraging OAPs to healthily get out-and-about would be a 'Freedom Pass to cultural events' obviously sponsored and paid for by the London Mayoralty as the travel Freedom Pass is. Pensioners have ready cash to spend that would be spread, as it were, when AOPs hobnobbed about at cultural venues and events that they would spend only if and because high entrance fees say to The Opera and Art Exhibitions and the like might be free or vastly reduced in price to the OAP. The same 'cultural passes' should be considered for the young, although many events often cite 'children free with paid adults'.   

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Avatar for - Colombian spotted frog

Discount schemes: Battersea Arts Centre and The British Library both have 'pay what you can afford' tickets for some of their events (or on certain days). I usually filter Eventbrite for free activities...but the quality isn't always great...

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Discount schemes: Battersea Arts Centre and The British Library both have 'pay what you can afford' tickets for some of their events (or on certain days). I usually filter Eventbrite for free activities...but the quality isn't always great. 

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Avatar for - Colombian spotted frog

Cost is the major barrier. My husband and I have a reasonable joint income, but we can only afford to go to paid events on very rare occasions. We usually rely upon our parents to pay for days out with the family in London. We both grew up...

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Cost is the major barrier. My husband and I have a reasonable joint income, but we can only afford to go to paid events on very rare occasions. We usually rely upon our parents to pay for days out with the family in London. We both grew up in London and remember attending lots of free and low cost events in the community. The landscape is different nowadays. We go to as many free events as possible.   

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Avatar for -

Cost is the major factor. It always seem to cost about £90 for a family ticket so we only go somewhere once in a blue moon.. 

Avatar for - Tiger

How do I exit this survey?!

Avatar for - Tiger

Theatre and classical music concerts far, far too expensive. Compared with prices in Europe, the prices in London are astronomical!

Avatar for - Koala

I find most music events too expensive, crowded and fear of being scammed. I worry that I can’t get home after midnight. I do enjoy local pub bands for being accessible, not having to buy a ticket in advance busy but not crowded. I've...

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I find most music events too expensive, crowded and fear of being scammed. I worry that I can’t get home after midnight. I do enjoy local pub bands for being accessible, not having to buy a ticket in advance busy but not crowded. I've enjoyed museums my whole life and find them very accessible. Theatres are often a disappointment and expensive. I also don’t like planning so far in advance. I do enjoy fetes and outdoor music events in my local area. I also like going to art galleries but they seem expensive now. 

 

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Avatar for - Saola

when it costs in excess of £70/80 per ticket to see a show on the west end it becomes impossible to afford taking a family to watch. I work in theatre (a notoriously badly paid career ) and cannot afford to even go to the shows I work on...

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when it costs in excess of £70/80 per ticket to see a show on the west end it becomes impossible to afford taking a family to watch. I work in theatre (a notoriously badly paid career ) and cannot afford to even go to the shows I work on. There will always be a tourist audience as long as the west end exists but for those of us who live and work in the city there should be provisions put in place to not line the pockets of producers who reap millions from shows and to give that money back in lower prices for londoners/those who live in london. 

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Avatar for - Monarch butterfly

"Londoners are less likely than elsewhere in the country to have engaged with arts and culture in the last 12 months."

Have you ever stopped to ask if the "cultural market" is attractive to Londoners?

Why Londoners are not very interested in...

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"Londoners are less likely than elsewhere in the country to have engaged with arts and culture in the last 12 months."

Have you ever stopped to ask if the "cultural market" is attractive to Londoners?

Why Londoners are not very interested in London's cultural offerings?

If Londoners themselves are not going/participating/contemplating art it is because there is nothing interesting for them, simple as that.

The world is changing, so is the culture, if you want Londoners more interested in this, ask what the people want.

Do research, knock on their doors, ask the population what they want and stop pushing a bankrupt culture that is monotonous, conservative and boring for many Londoners.

You yourselves are seeing the result of cultural bankruptcy. And it's good that this is happening, at least then maybe we can seek changes or at least accept a healthier culture, both for ourselves and our souls to enjoy.

Politicians should govern to make their people happy and honestly I don't see a happy society here.

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Avatar for - Orangutan

I would love to attend and partake in more events in Newham if a greater variety is available. 

I am eager to witness a more inclusive and diverse cultural scent that celebrates all races equally.

Avatar for - Staghorn coral

I would visit museums and galleries a lot more with my children, if public transport was easier to use with small children and buggies. It's a nightmare getting a buggy and two children up the 30 or 40 steps at my local train station. It...

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I would visit museums and galleries a lot more with my children, if public transport was easier to use with small children and buggies. It's a nightmare getting a buggy and two children up the 30 or 40 steps at my local train station. It takes too long to get into central London on a bus, so train and tube is my only option. 

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I think many Londoners are put off because of the huge amount of tourists who flock to these productions and the price that theatres charge for tickets. I understand that everyone is under pressure to cover costs for maintenance and energy...

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I think many Londoners are put off because of the huge amount of tourists who flock to these productions and the price that theatres charge for tickets. I understand that everyone is under pressure to cover costs for maintenance and energy but there is also an element of Rip Off. Maybe the Mayor should allocate more funding for local Arts and Crafts especially in the suburbs and foster home grown talent within London.

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Avatar for - Orangutan

London needs to create more space for artists. Too many empty shops and storefronts on new builds and high streets. Some great examples around London but not enough and need to be safeguarded - locations such as Hackney Wick were genuinely...

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London needs to create more space for artists. Too many empty shops and storefronts on new builds and high streets. Some great examples around London but not enough and need to be safeguarded - locations such as Hackney Wick were genuinely thriving for example. Areas around Lewisham and Millwall. Too many artists being pushed out by development and the GLA shoudl develop its health and well-being policies to do more to protects the role of artists, challenge and public art.

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