Why West End LIVE?
London’s West End offers an experience that nowhere else in the UK can match. From the oldest and grandest theatres showcasing top musicals performed by star-studded casts, to the ultimate film experiences offered by the West End’s premier cinemas – there is no shortage of entertainment.
Then there are the venues, the bars and the clubs. Music to suit every taste is on offer, daily, in the heart of our capital – from classical to country, hip-hop to house. Not just venues, but cutting-edge venues that set tomorrow’s trends in music, fashion and dance.
And let’s not forget the restaurants. No longer a culinary backwater, the West End boasts Michelin starred restaurants offering taste sensations that Paris and New York can only aspire to – with plenty of ‘greasy spoons’ around for those who fancy a good old fashioned traditional fry-up!
The West End has always been London’s focal point for shopping as well as entertainment. Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street have always been recognised as London’s key retail sites, and H&M, Tommy Hilfiger and Timberland are among the many international brands that have recently made major investments to establish flagship stores in the area.
In a sense, the West End, like much of London, is a series of villages. From the oriental sights and smells of Chinatown to the world-famous nightlife of Soho; from the continental feel of Covent Garden to the hollering market traders on Berwick Street – it’s all here.
In recent years, Westminster City Council, in association with its partners – among them New West End Company and Heart of London Business Alliance – has sought to develop and enhance the West End experience. Their combined efforts are plain to see, with the streets cleaner, greener and more attractive than ever before. The West End is enjoying a new lease of life and locals, as well as visitors, are all the richer for it.
West End Live aims to showcase just a little of what the West End has to offer, and it does so in a family oriented festival atmosphere. Everything is free and just as the West End has entertainment to suit all tastes, so does West End Live.
