Image credit: Kieran Webber

The re-elected Mayor of London has vowed to pour £6 million in funding to bring back live music to London.

The re-elected London Mayor, Sadiq Khan has vowed to put £6 million in funding to bring back live music in London. 

Before the pandemic, London was a cultural hub, especially for live music. Unfortunately, the pandemic struck a massive blow to the cities live music sector and other cultural sectors. For over a year the live music sector has been on a temporary hiatus with minimal support and at times, no idea when they can reopen. Thankfully the UK government’s roadmap out of lockdown has provided a timeline as to when they can return, with this in mind Khan wants to get London up and running. 

The Labour politician has revealed a new campaign called ‘Lets Do London’, which focuses on jobs and getting Britains capital back into action. In a recent interview with Time Out, Khan said: “Let’s Do London is the biggest tourism campaign our city has ever seen. The reason it’s so important is that the last 15 months have been incredibly tough for us.” Adding: “But I also recognise not just the intrinsic enjoyment we get from retail, culture, and hospitality, but that one in five jobs in London are in those areas. We’ve got to make sure that we bounce back as quickly as possible to avoid mass unemployment, leading to a massive recession.”

Due to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions, tourism to the city was reduced by 90% in 2020, with figures set to be similar this year. “This will probably be the only year in our lifetime when there won’t be international tourists in London” Khan commented. Adding: “So Let’s Do London is about bringing all the key players in London together: the Globe, the National Theatre, the Southbank, the V&A, the O2, great chefs, great artists like David Hockney, great live music venues, pubs, bars, and restaurants. We want to make sure that this summer is the best summer we’ve ever seen.”