Blog latest

Boris Johnson cancels London Jewish cultural festival

Monday, 15 June 2009 10:43

The annual Jewish cultural festival – Simcha on the Square – has been cancelled because Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson has withdrawn most of its funding.

In previous years the festival was strongly supported by Ken Livingstone’s Mayor’s Office, working with Jewish Culture UK, and providing an annual grant of £50,000 together with free use of Trafalgar Square.

Ken Livingstone said: ‘Simcha on the Square officially celebrated the Jewish contribution to London and gave all Londoners an opportunity to share in the richness of Jewish music, dance and culture. By officially recognising and celebrating Jewish culture we made clear our total commitment to fighting anti-Semitism.’

Simcha on the Square became the largest festival of Jewish culture in Europe. It's location on Trafalgar Square ensured it a high profile and unambiguous status as an 'official' London festival.

The organisers announced on Friday that the festival cannot take place this year because Mayor Johnson has slashed proposed funding from £50,000 to £20,000. Simcha joins a list of other events celebrating the contribution of different communities to London including the Rise anti-racist festival, Africa Day on the Square, the Russian Winter Festival and the Oxford St lighting display for Chinese New Year.

Ken Livingstone said: ‘London’s economic success depends on its international and cultural openness. The cultural festivals we supported were a great symbol of this, not only improving community relations in London, but giving London and open image throughout the world. Our relatively small investments reaped dividends for London. Boris Johnson’s Tory administration has adopted a narrow-minded approach which will harmful to London’s international standing and its many communities."