About West End LIVE
Since 2000, Westminster City Council has organised a number of high profile showcase summer events in the Capital. ‘Fair in the Square’ celebrated the Millennium, whereas ‘Fayre in the Square’, two years later, marked The Queen’s Golden Jubilee, bringing everything from rap to jazz and ballet to ballroom to Berkeley Square.
In June 2004, Leicester Square was the setting as 50,000 visitors turned out to tap their feet and sing along to Edith Piaf’s ‘La Vie en Rose’, as part of the activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of D-Day.
A year later, we decided to focus on something more general – the amazing depth and variety of the entertainment offered in the heart of London. Although it took quite some persuasion, four shows – CHICAGO, MAMMA MIA!, THE BIG LIFE and MARY POPPINS agreed to perform, and West End Live was born. A huge hit in its first year, West End Live was very quickly accepted as London’s very own ‘Broadway on Broadway’ – a long standing event in New York’s cultural calendar. With eight shows in 2006, a dozen in 2007 and 16 shows expected at this year’s event, West End Live really is getting better and better.
But theatre is just a part of it. Entertainment in the West End is about much more: performance arts, visual arts, flagship retail stores and tourist attractions are just some of the highlights. And let’s not forget the film and cinema industry with its heart in Leicester Square – the setting for many of our blockbuster premieres. This year’s event reflects the industry’s key position and a select group of organisations have been invited to take part and promote themselves in a variety of engaging and interactive ways. These include Disney, Paramount, Lion Gate, Universal, Odeon, British Film Institute and Forbidden Planet.
Ultimately West End Live is about bringing people together to enjoy the best of what London has to offer in terms of entertainment. It is done in a fun, family friendly atmosphere and everything is free – a rare treat these days!
Bring the family along and enjoy the weekend. There will be music to suit all tastes, arts and crafts workshops, a display of some of the great film cars, face painters and crazy hair artists, costumed characters, Capital Radio’s studio bus, balloon modellers, a hands on exhibit from the Science Museum, guest appearances from West End stars, theatrical make-up artists offering life-like scars and other monstrous creations, film memorabilia, an exhibit of the weird and wonderful, sneak previews of this summer’s big film releases screened in a custom-built film truck and much much more!
