The Square Mile’s reputation as a no-go zone on weekends needs to be overhauled
Once upon a time, the City was a place where people only went for work. A place that was busy with workers from Monday to Friday, but which people then left to go home, or to go and enjoy themselves somewhere else.
If you walked through the Square Mile on a Saturday or Sunday, it could resemble a ghost town.
But if you come here this weekend, you will find the very opposite.
You will be walking into a spectacular immersive theatre day and one of London’s biggest free events: The Golden Key.
You will meet 30 independent theatre companies and 200 performers in a giant extravaganza of fun.
The City is home to some of the most iconic sites – and sights – in the UK, and they will be brought to life in a way you have never seen before.
They will host street festivals, featuring giant puppets, circus performers, contemporary dancers, jugglers, storytellers, and interactive theatre.
St Paul’s Churchyard will be transformed into a bustling marketplace, with interactive performances including an outdoor circus show, and musical acts spanning the rich folk tunes of Eastern Europe, to pulsating rhythms from Africa and Cuba, celebrating the City’s internationalism and diversity.
Guildhall Yard will be traversed by stilt walkers and acrobats. And across the Square Mile, Storytellers, poets, and puppeteers will share the stories of the City, from ancient tales of Roman Londinium to shopkeepers and Suffragettes.
This event will be a significant boost for the City’s hospitality firms and it will not be a one-off.
It is just one part of the transformation of the Square Mile into a place where people want to be, and which people want to come to, for fun, as well as for work.
We are investing to transform the Square Mile’s leisure offer – creating a leading destination for UK and international visitors, workers, and residents to enjoy.
We will collaborate with the City’s Business Improvement Districts to create new, exciting commercial and cultural partnerships to entice people to the Square Mile.
And we are partnering with the government’s High Streets Taskforce to explore new ways to boost the City’s retail offer, building on the success of One New Change and the Royal Exchange, and celebrating the unique retail offer at Leadenhall Market.
We are working harder than ever before to ensure the benefits are felt for businesses across the City, as well as opening up new spaces and routes such as the complete Thames Path.
We must seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine the Square Mile, just as the Elizabeth Line is connecting more people to the City than ever before.
This is what the City needs in order to attract and retain the best talent – to be a place where people and businesses want to locate.
This plan will support the UK’s economic revival and the Government’s pro-growth agenda.
Because a stronger City will ensure that investment and capital from the industry is channelled to nations and regions across the UK, supporting people, businesses, and communities to thrive.