Initiative Value Statements

City Sunday: Choirs, Bands & Open Halls

The City empties on Sundays. This is treated as inevitable. It is not. It is a choice made by default, repeated until it feels like fact. The problem is circular: hospitality cannot justify opening without footfall; footfall will not come without reason. This initiative breaks the loop with music.

Schools have choirs, bands, and orchestras. Teachers and pupils have families. Livery members work in City firms; those workers have families. City firm employees sing in choirs; they, too, have families. Each performer brings an audience. The model is self-amplifying.

The Aim: One Sunday in Dame Susan's term. Livery halls open as venues. Schools from all 32 London boroughs are invited — those who choose to come are welcome. Families fill the seats, then fill the cafés that have agreed to open. The Lady Mayor walks between venues and is photographed with young musicians in ancient halls. The City, for one Sunday, becomes what it could be every weekend.

Year 1 is proof of concept. Years 2 and 3 add more Sundays, then Saturdays, then more venues and schools. What begins as an event becomes a fixture.

For UnSquaring the Square Mile: Livery halls built for congregation opened to children from Barking and Brent, performing alongside brokers and solicitors who happen to sing. The barriers are not removed; they are practically ignored by filling the space with music. Sunday stops being the day the City is closed. It becomes the day the City is open to everyone.

Dame Susan blesses, convenes, and attends. Others organise.

The City gains a Sunday.

INITIATIVE RECIPE: City Sunday — Music in the Square Mile

Initiative Name

City Sunday: Choirs, Bands & Open Halls

Current State

Assets:

  • 112 Livery company halls (many suitable as performance venues)

  • City of London School for Boys (just outside the boundary; suitable venue)

  • Livery members employed by City firms (existing network)

  • 32 London boroughs with schools containing choirs, bands, and orchestras

  • Hospitality sector seeking weekend footfall (Destination City review confirms spend recovered, but visitor numbers lag)

  • Three-year Mayoral continuum (Dame Susan's term plus two successors) for building momentum

Problems:

  • City is largely closed on Sundays (Destination City review: weekend footfall now slightly higher than 2019 but commercial premises are substantially closed)

  • No existing coordination mechanism for schools, music + Livery halls + City firms

  • A large-scale event requires significant organisation

  • Hospitality businesses need confidence that footfall will materialise before committing to opening

  • Schools operate on an academic calendar; coordination across 32 boroughs is complex

Opportunity:

  • Teachers and pupils have families who will come

  • Livery members have families who will come

  • City firm employees in choirs have families who will come

  • Each participant brings an audience; the model is self-amplifying

The Concept

Year 1 (Dame Susan's term): One Sunday. Proof of concept. Choirs and bands from schools, Livery companies, and City firms perform in Livery halls and suitable venues. Families attend. Hospitality opens. City comes alive.

Year 2-3 (Successor terms): Additional Sundays. Then Saturdays. More Liveries, more firms, more schools join. The model compounds.

Long term: A regular fixture in the City calendar. Weekend activation becomes normal, not exceptional.

What Others Must Deliver

Programme Director Role (To be appointed)

Mandate: Design, coordinate, and deliver City Sunday Year 1; establish framework for Years 2-3.

This is a large organisational undertaking. It requires a named individual with capacity and authority.

The initiative is designed to compound. Each year adds participants. Each participant brings an audience. The hospitality sector responds to demonstrated footfall. The City's weekend character shifts — not through mandate, but through activity.

Decisions Required

From Lady Mayor:

  1. Bless the initiative and confirm Year 1 participation

  2. Confirm date for City Sunday in her term

  3. Sign letters to Livery Masters and Directors of Education

  4. Commit to Mansion House launch reception

  5. Commit to attend City Sunday (half-day)

  6. Secure successor Lord Mayor commitment to Years 2-3

From Programme Director (to be appointed):

  1. Accept accountability for delivery

  2. Confirm capacity (this is a substantial undertaking)

From Livery Committee:

  1. Endorse initiative

  2. Encourage hall participation

From City of London Education:

  1. Facilitate school recruitment across 32 boroughs

  2. Confirm City of London School for Boys availability

From BIDs / Hospitality Sector:

  1. Commit to Sunday opening by confirmed venues

  2. Promote to members

Resource Implications

This initiative is larger than FSG Mobilisation or the Apprenticeship Award. It requires:

  • A dedicated Programme Director (not a side-of-desk task)

  • Budget for logistics, marketing, and contingency (to be estimated in Phase 1)

  • Coordination capacity across multiple stakeholder groups

  • Lead time (6 months minimum for Year 1)

The return, if successful, is a replicable model for weekend activation that grows without proportional increase in Mayoral effort. Year 1 is an investment. Years 2-3 are the return.