We did it! Waltham Forest has been announced as the first ever London Borough of Culture 2019 by Mayor Sadiq Khan.

We were thrilled to be joined by the WF Culture team for the live stream at the workshop as the announcement was made this morning from City Hall.

Waltham Forest will receive over £1.3m of funding to deliver a range of projects over 2019 including a light installation called Molecules in the Marshes on the marshes, a Hitchcock festival, the UK’s largest high rise mural as well as investment in young people and career development within the creative industries. A steering group including Blackhorse Workshop’s Creative Director Harriet Warden presented their bid in December last year with the backing of over 14,000 Waltham Forest residents. Brent was also announced as the Borough of Culture for 2020. 

The mayor said, ‘Huge congratulations to Waltham Forest and Brent for their superb bids. I know that both will deliver a programme of work that will benefit residents and make the whole city proud. I am particularly happy to see both bids have placed such importance on young people. It’s vital that young people get access to culture, regardless of their background, so that they can aspire to be our performers, artists, entrepreneurs and cultural leaders of the future.’ 

Justine Simons Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries and Councillor Clare Coghill returned from City Hall to the Workshop with the award this afternoon to be greeted by the press and the team behind the bid. Well done Waltham Forest, 2019 promises to be a great year for the borough. Look out for announcements of exciting projects over the next few months.