Many of our capital city's most renowned cultural institutions are banding together in order to promote its exceptional upcoming Autumn season of events. Forecasts reveal that more than two million tourists are expected to visit the stellar exhibitions and events taking place throughout the city during the Autumn months of 2014. To promote the season, and help London maintain its position as the most visited capital city on the planet, a short film has been produced by the GREAT Britain campaign and London & Partners, the Mayor's official promotional company for the city.
Forecasts reveal that more than two million tourists are expected to visit the stellar exhibitions and events taking place throughout the city during the Autumn months of 2014
The film (which can be viewed below) is narrated with theatrical aplomb by David Harewood MBE, the respected British actor and former star of hit US drama Homeland, and highlights the key artistic, literary and theatrical events available across the capital throughout the Autumn months that both domestic and international visitors can enjoy. Boris Johnson, London's enigmatic mayor, said the season's “Outstanding programme of exhibitions, plays and shows is another great reason to put London at the top of your list of places to visit.” He said that the capital offers “An unbeatable variety of arts and culture” throughout the year, “Attracting people in their millions from around the world,” and that this season they are “Maximising the potential of the full range of cultural activity to be found throughout the city."
London's Autumn Season
Of the countless cultural exhibitions heading to London this Autumn, some of the more exciting include 'EY Exhibition: Late Turner – Painting Set Free' at the Tate Britain (from the 25th of August), Anselm Kiefer's major retrospective at the Royal Academy from September, and Ming: 50 years that changed China. The Ming exhibit (which take pride of place on this year's cultural calendar) takes place from the 18th of September to the 5th of January next year at the British Museum, and explores the golden age of China, which was a global superpower between 1400 and 1450. The exhibition will feature a range of spectacular objects and paintings from 'The Forbidden City', which was built by the Ming dynasty throughout this period. From exquisite porcelain, gold and jewellery, to furniture, paintings, sculptures and more, pieces have been drawn from all corners of the globe, with many of them having only been recently discovered. In fact, the exhibition will mark the first time that some of these items have been seen outside China.
Boris Johnson said the season's “Outstanding programme of exhibitions, plays and shows is another great reason to put London at the top of your list of places to visit.”
The Museum of London will also be hosting a new Sherlock Holmes exhibition this Autumn, between the 14th of October and the 12th of April next year. The new show (titled “The man who never lived and will never die,) seeks to delve into the mind of the world's most famous detective and his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle by recreating the atmosphere of Sherlock's London through film, photographs and original artefacts. This will be the first such exhibition on the great detective in London since 1951, and with the growing interest in the property spurred on by the recent BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, it's bound to be exceedingly popular. Of course, London is also the undisputed (though some New Yorkers might argue) theatre capital of the world, and his Autumn the West End will see the arrival of exciting new shows such as Made in Dagenham starring Gemma Arterton, and the story of The Kinks rise to stardom in Sunny Afternoon.
Official GREAT Britain Campaign Website
Official London & Partners Website
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK who tries to catch something culturally fulfilling whenever he's down in London. He tries, but that doesn't necessarily mean he always succeeds.
