Our year as London Borough of Culture has demonstrated the wealth of talent we have here in Croydon. I’m delighted to see that the ’Oratorio of Hope’ event, the opening ceremony for our year- long programme, has been nominated by the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards for best series and events. This was a truly amazing event at Fairfield Halls, featuring local musical talent from across Croydon. Best of luck to everyone involved!
In the final season of our year as London Borough of Culture, we have a fantastic selection of events for everyone, taking us right up until the end of March. Croydon’s rich musical heritage is celebrated in Rewind: This is Croydon’s Music exhibition. It opens on Friday 9 February and will feature photography, oral history and objects from our most iconic artists – Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Captain Sensible, The Damned, Kirsty MacColl and many others. Please do visit the Museum of Croydon in the Croydon Clocktower/Central Library complex to see the contribution to music worldwide that Croydon artists have made.
The council is exploring ways to make our library service viable, as the current model is not working for our residents. We want to hear our communities’ views and Croydon residents are invited to join a webinar to hear about the proposed changes. The online event will be held on Wednesday 7 February, from 7pm-8.30pm – more details on our website.
Being able to listen to residents across the borough has always been important to me and so I was really pleased to see local people at my latest Mayor’s Question Time in New Addington. There was a great range of questions from local people – thanks to everyone that attended. The next one will be held in Sanderstead on 27 February. Register here.
Croydon Commitment is celebrating 20 years of supporting local groups, by raising money for grassroots organisations, delivering investment into Croydon and promoting health and wellbeing. This week it announced the launch of its Croydon Social Value Challenge, which will invite local businesses to help create a substantial positive impact within the borough. I wish them every success for the launch of their new programme.
We held two special civic occasions this week:
– February is LGBT+ History Month – a time and opportunity to celebrate our LGBT+ communities and we marked the first day by raising the Progress Pride flag over the Town Hall.
– Today, the flag of Sri Lanka was also raised over the Town Hall in honour of Sri Lankan Independence Day on Sunday 4 February. Sri Lankans in Croydon play a huge role in our communities, and I wish them and their families a most enjoyable day!
Have a great weekend!
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
