Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has revealed that Wandsworth will be London Borough of Culture 2025!
The campaign, led by Wandsworth Council, saw hundreds of community organisations, creative ventures, schools, businesses and residents, pool together to support the bid for Borough of Culture.
As well as being the Mayor of London’s hometown, Wandsworth boasts an incredible community of diverse, passionate and creative people who make this borough one of the most sought-after in London to live, work and play.
What happens now?
Wandsworth’s tenure as Borough of Culture will officially begin in April 2025, which means that 2024 will be spent curating an exciting programme of events with local cultural groups and businesses.
What is London Borough of Culture?
Borough of Culture is a community-focused initiative launched in 2017 by the Mayor of London to bring Londoners together and celebrate each borough’s cultural heritage.
“Culture has the power of transforms communities and bring people closer together. Now, more than ever, there is a pressing need to reach out to our neighbours and celebrate London’s unique and diverse culture. London Borough of Culture is a great way to do just that whilst showing the world that our cultural gems extend way beyond the centre of the capital to all corners of the city.”
– Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
The Borough of Culture is selected every two years, which means there is no Borough of Culture in 2024, but Croydon, our neighbours to the South, are in their final month as Borough of Culture for 2023.
What does this mean for Wandsworth?
Well, Wandsworth is home to Battersea Arts Centre, the Royal College of Art, the National Opera Studio and the Royal Academy of Dance, not to mention local grassroots organisations like Tara Theatre, Putney Arts Theatre, Oily Cart, Sprout Art, Wandsworth Music, Sound Minds, Tavaziva Dance, Matt’s Gallery, World Heart Beat and Baked Bean Theatre Company.
The financial sum awarded to Wandsworth as 2025’s Borough of Culture will be distributed amongst local arts projects to deliver a cultural programme of entertainment like no other in our history.
Watch this space, and let’s do this together.
Discover Wandsworth Town