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November 8th marked London’s 3-year anniversary within the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Being a part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) has provided incredible opportunities for London artists, music industry and local partners. Music brings community together and through this designation, London is using music to drive positive social and economic change in the community. As a UNESCO City of Music, London puts a lens of music on everything we do; from addressing issues, bringing new innovative ideas and projects to the table and putting creatives into the spotlight – all while creating a bigger community impact. A UNESCO Creative City designation builds a new identity, enhances a community and positions that community’s sustainable future, led by the creative sector. This designation is a rally call to preserve culture and invest locally. With music built into both the City of London and Tourism London’s Strategic Plan, London is paving the way while producing results.

Earlier this June, London was recognized by the Canadian live music industry as ‘Music City of the Year’ and celebrated during the Canadian Live Music Awards at Canada Music Week. This recognition is a reflection of the incredible music community of London’s past, present and future. The City of London has committed to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals that work towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As the City, we continue to bake music into everything we do from policy work to day-to-day service delivery.

Over the past year many incredible projects have taken place and on Friday November 8th, as London celebrated 3 years as a recognized UNESCO Creative City, the London Music Office and partners were pleased to roll out a variety of programs and events.

Artist Entrepreneur Bootcamp

A two-day professional development bootcamp geared at getting artist entrepreneurs on track while supercharging their musical careers. Day one focused on the business of music led by Artist Manager, Liam Killen. Day two focused on artist performances, accelerating their live stage show.

London City of Music SPARK Music Tourism Grant

Seeking to grow and diversify London’s Tourism offering, London Music Office and Tourism London in partnership with Tourism Innovation Lab and Southwest Ontario Tourism Association Program, launched a new program to spark new initiatives focused on music tourism. During pitch sessions, industry experts selected three pitched concepts from seventeen proposed, to participate in a 3-month mentorship program. The three winning pitches also received $5,000 each in start-up seed funding.

Climate Action Emergency Plan

In response to London’s Climate Emergency Action Plan, the City of London is placing artist front and centre to address the climate emergency and bring awareness to the local impacts. A poem (Watershed) was created by local poet, Tom Cull, addressing the issues of climate change. London band Status/Non-Status, wrote an original composition that served as the bed track the poem, Watershed. This poem was then read by four different local musicians filmed across various areas of the city highlighting in impacts of the climate emergency. This video will be used to bring awareness to Londoners and express the concept that individuals can lead a positive change in their community to reduce global warming and the impacts felt at home.  

UNESCO City of Music Action Plan Tracking Report

Since joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network on November 8, 2021, The City of London through Cultural Services & Economic Partnerships, has been tracking the projects and measures related to London's UNESCO city of Music Action Plan through Power BI. This initial report summarizes two and half years of work across six focus areas resulting in nineteen objectives and 242 actions to date brought on by London’s UNESCO City of Music designation. View the preliminary report here.

WORDS & Music Concert

To cap off an incredibly impactful year, London Music Office teamed up with Words Fest London (the city’s literature festival), for a special celebration of local artists and the words behind their music. This concert is an opportunity to pause and listen to the stories behind the songs. Four London artists, John Fellner, Saveria, Tara Dunphy and King Cruff lit up the stage at Wolf Hall as seen in the photos and video links below.

John Fellner – Front Porch
Saveria – Hold On