The Cultural Cull Begins, Boris wields the axe

News comes in that Boris has begun his promised cull of cultural events in London.  Boris’ determination to turn London into a cultural wasteland where only the rich can afford to party is highlighted by his decision to slash a £10,000 grant promised to organisers of this Sunday’s Soho Pride.

Organisers claim that they were only told about this a few weeks before the event and that this decision may mean the end of the popular Soho Party.  Boris wants community events to continue only if they can attract corporate sponsorship.  In other words he wants to turn some of London’s most popular days out into fucking adverts.

Free festivals, often run by volunteers, are hard pressed enough as it is.  Excessive licencing costs and unhelpful local Councils make organising a free cultural event a heroic act.  Festival organisers don’t have the time to run an office to try and raise sponsorship and most wouldn’t want to.  Stale and sterilised events like Innocent Smoothis fruitstock attract a handful of Chablis sipping, sun-dried tomato munchers whilst the likes of RISE and the Notting Hill Carnival draw hundreds of thousands of everyday Londoners.

Those of us who don’t live in Chelsea and Sutton and can’t afford exhorberant ticket prices just to get into out local park.  The type of folk that Boris and his chums really don’t like.

Pikcled Politics has a list of events that may be under threat:

“Chinese New Year; St Patricks Day; St George’s Day; Vaisakhi; Africa Day; Baishakhi Mela; Pride and Soho Pride; Rise; Carnival del Pueblo; London Mela; Notting Hill Carnival; Liberty – disability arts festival; Thames Festival; Trafalgar Square summer festival; the Jewish Simcha on the Square; Chanukkah; Black History Month events; Diwali; Eid; Celebrating Sanctuary (refugee festival); Capital Age; Festival of Youth Arts.”