Mayor of London announces plans for biggest domestic tourism campaign

As Sadiq Khan formally signed in for a second term as Mayor of London this morning on stage at London's Shakespeare's Globe, he has announced plans for the biggest domestic tourism campaign the capital has ever seen to help London’s economy get back on its feet as COVID-19 restrictions are eased.

In his speech this morning, Khan confirmed that a top priority for his second term as Mayor will be ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’, standing up for the Londoners who lost their jobs during the pandemic and helping to skill up Londoners to get back into work.

An immediate priority for the Mayor will be his new ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign, launching today, which is being created in partnership with the city’s hospitality, culture, and retail industries.

The flagship campaign to encourage Londoners and visitors back into central London will include a programme of one-off special events created in partnership with London’s best-known cultural institutions and tourism attractions. It will kick off later this month with the capital’s famous chefs and hospitality venues coming together to promote and celebrate London’s world-class food offer.

There will be new exciting public art installations to attract people back into London from this month. David Hockney, one of the UK’s most influential living artists, has redesigned TfL’s iconic roundel ‘Hockney Circus’ in a special artwork as part of a takeover of Piccadilly Circus Station, starting today.

There will also be a transformation of road crossings and street furniture in the West End, with a partnership between Royal Academy artists and the Heart of London Business Alliance Art of London programme, and multi-award-winning artist and designer Es Devlin will plant a living forest at Somerset House for this year’s London Design Biennale.

The Autumn will welcome back major creative festivals, such as London Fashion Week, Frieze London, the London Design Festival, and the 65th BFI London Film Festival, before the return of major events and attractions over the winter.

There will be further announcements across the year to showcase London’s world class nightlife, cultural attractions and hospitality businesses as well as the city’s grassroots venues and how creative freelancers, artists and performers will be at the heart of the programme as it continues to develop.

The Mayor has allocated £6 million to directly support the new campaign, in addition to industry contributing over £1 million in funding and value-in-kind. The campaign will include a major advertising push supported by London & Partners and TfL, alongside new content on the Visit London website outlining all the campaign has to offer to Londoners and visitors to the capital.

To ensure London re-opens safely, the capital’s venues are doing a huge amount of work to ensure they follow COVID-19 guidance, including new queuing systems, staggered arrival times, and a variety of social distancing measures.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The work begins anew today to refresh and reignite our city and to kick-start our economy as London continues to reopen. This includes making jobs, jobs, jobs a top priority and banging the drum for London to attract the jobs, tourism and investment our city needs.

“Our new campaign is bringing together many of the capital’s leading organisations and venues to offer an unparalleled experience for anyone visiting the capital throughout the year. With restrictions on international travel likely to continue this year, Londoners and visitors from the UK have a unique opportunity to experience all the capital has to offer without the queues. In doing so you’ll be providing vital support for our world-leading venues as they start to re-open and need our help more than ever.

“The 'Let’s Do London' campaign celebrates London as a destination in itself and will help attract our much missed customers to the capital. In the West End alone, we are home to utterly brilliant hotels, galleries, flagship stores, Christmas light displays and art installations; so our big, bold unambiguous ask is come and support the West End as one in ten Londoners jobs depend on it." ‎

Jace Tyrrell, Chief Executive at New West End Company representing Bond Street, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Mayfair, added: “With international travel still uncertain and domestic lockdown restrictions lifting further over this month and next, London and UK visitors will be able to enjoy the very best of the capital, without all the overseas tourists, with its truly remarkable retail, leisure, hospitality and cultural offering - a summer like no other."

Partners who are coming together to support the ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign include: BAFTA, BFI, Central London Alliance, Grosvenor Estates, Heart of London Business Alliance, London Fashion Week, National Gallery, New West End Company, Royal Academy of Arts, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Opera House, Royal Parks, Shaftesbury, Westminster Council.