Cultural Participation: How the London Borough of Culture made art accessible to all
Project: A year-long cultural festival as an agent of whole-borough change
Launched in 2017, the Mayor’s London Borough of Culture programme offers one of the capital’s 32 boroughs an annual award of £1.35 million to stage a year-long programme of cultural activity. The initiative aims to embed culture in borough-level policy, elevate local cultural identity, and create long-term cultural infrastructure.
Waltham Forest, the inaugural recipient in 2019, leveraged this investment to deliver over 1,000 cultural events that attracted 500,000 people and generated £4.1 million in local spending. Beyond the festival year, Waltham Forest has established a Creative Enterprise Zone, a Cultural Quarter, and integrated culture into every facet of borough governance, demonstrating how public investment in arts and culture can drive civic transformation.
Brent, Lewisham, Croydon and Wandsworth have all been London Boroughs of Culture since then.
A cultural festival to drive mass cultural participation
Waltham Forest’s 2019 programme, ‘Welcome to the Forest’, brought arts into the everyday lives of residents and visitors. From an operatic forest performance to internationally acclaimed musicians playing under a circus tent, the year’s events activated parks, schools, town centres, and underused public spaces across the borough. Every school in the borough participated, with 88 institutions engaging in cultural programming, making arts education a core feature of the initiative.
Audience surveys revealed that 83% of attendees spent money locally during major events, and 70% of creative businesses reported increased revenue. The council also commissioned 241 local businesses, reinforcing the connection between cultural programming and local economic development. These numbers are a testament to how large-scale cultural festivals can serve as engines for both community engagement and economic impact.
Building a legacy through cultural infrastructure
The London Borough of Culture programme’s long-term value lies in its policy and planning legacy. In Waltham Forest, culture is now embedded into the borough’s statutory London Plan and internal strategies. The council’s cultural investments include the redevelopment of Fellowship Square, a vibrant civic plaza with year-round programming and interactive public art, and the reopening of Walthamstow Assembly Hall as a music venue.
The borough is also transforming the historic Granada Cinema into a 950-seat performance venue in partnership with Soho Theatre, establishing a new Cultural Quarter alongside the William Morris Gallery and Vestry House Museum. These developments reflect a strategic shift: from one-off events to permanent cultural infrastructure.
Empowering artists and communities
Waltham Forest continues to invest in its creative ecosystem through the Blackhorse Lane Creative Enterprise Zone, established in 2021. This designation supports affordable workspace, creative employment, and skills development, aligning cultural policy with economic strategy.
Small grants totalling £100,000 annually further sustain grassroots organisations like Stories & Supper, which works with refugees and residents through storytelling and food. Originally funded during the Borough of Culture year, the group has since published cookbooks, created cookery videos, and secured national funding—all enabled by early local support.
Looking forward, Waltham Forest launched a 5-year Cultural Action Plan in 2025, focused on creative health, education, jobs, climate, and community-powered culture. The plan reflects a maturing approach to cultural policy—one that positions arts and creativity not as a luxury, but as central to local wellbeing, cohesion, and economic resilience.