LBOC – Croydon 2023
Croydon has been selected to be the location for Mayors London Borough of Culture 2023 putting culture at the heart of our local community. This is a great chance to illuminate the culture of Croydon and show off the character and diversity of this London borough. Launched in 2017, there have been two previous rounds of the London Borough of Culture to date. To get this great opportunity London boroughs compete through bids to receive funding to deliver a programme of ambitious cultural activities celebrating the unique character of the local people and places. A panel of experts and city hall officers read and moderate the bids with Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, and the Mayor, Sadiq Khan making the final decision.
Waltham Forest was the first ever London Borough of Culture in 2019. Their amazing programme displayed a great sense of community ownership involving 88 schools throughout the borough, recruiting over 1,000 volunteers with over 500,000 visits to the cultural activities but on during the year. See the highlights of the year here!
Brent was the 2020 London Borough of Culture. In a time when communities couldn’t come together in the usual means, this programme was adapted to unite communities through various digital means. Grassroots creativity was the focus of the year with a digital music festival and visual arts programme being highly successful. To commemorate a challenging and highly successful year Brent created a highlight video.
Launching in April 2023 we are proud to be a part of the planning and organising of the Croydon London Borough of Culture programme. This is a unique experience to celebrate Croydon’s identity, people and diverse communities. From major events with international headline acts performing alongside emerging home-grown talent, to cultural activities throughout Croydon’s communities this programme will showcase the rich culture and heritage of Croydon.