Wednesday (8/1) at The Stage (London), Nicola Merrifield reports, “London is one of the highest-ranking cities for outputs of theatre, dance and music performances, says a major report that compares 12 international destinations. According to the World Cities Culture Report 2012, London comes second after New York for both the number of theatre performances and dance performances per year. … London comes third for music performances per year with just over 17,000, after Paris and New York, which have around 33,000 and 22,000 respectively. The research is based on performances in both permanent venues, such as theatres and concert halls, as well as more informal sites such as pubs, restaurants, bars and outdoor spaces. … The authors explain it is not an attempt to rank the world’s 12 most culturally important cities. Instead, they say it is designed to ‘understand the role that culture plays within the successful world city.’… Director of culture research firm BOP Consulting, Paul Owens, said: ‘Culture is an under-researched and poorly understood factor in the social and economic success of world cities. The World Cities Culture Report is the most comprehensive comparative study of its kind … It will be a hugely valuable tool to policymakers as they devise future strategies for development and investment.’ ”
Posted August 3, 2012
