The below correspondence is posted here by kind permission from the Society of London Theatre
The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) is an organisation that works with and on behalf of their Members to champion theatre and the performing arts.
Monthly round-up
Please download our PowerPoint showing how we supported your shows in February.
Olivier Award Nominations
Nominations for the Olivier Awards 2022 with Mastercard will be announced on Tuesday 8 March at 5pm by 2020’s Best Actor and Actress in a Musical winners, Sam Tutty and Miriam-Teak Lee.
Take a look at our ‘how to watch’ video here.
Support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
The Government continue to encourage signs of support for Ukraine from businesses and individuals in the UK and have welcomed support from the cultural and creative sectors. If you have undertaken any supportive activity (e.g. lighting up your building in blue and yellow), please make sure you are sharing that activity through your media channels.
London Tourism Trends
Weekly flight bookings to London were 179,204 in w/c 7 February, compared to an average of 205,000 per week in 2019. There has been an increase of 185% in international flight bookings from the first full week of January to the first full week of February (Source: ForwardKeys).
Central London footfall increased by 3.3% in February, which is behind growth in regional cities across the UK at 7.1%, however the “back to office” benchmark was in line with central London footfall (Source: Springboard).
Demand in tube journeys has slowly increased from the start of the year. February is now peaking at roughly 25% fewer daily journeys when compared to pre-pandemic levels. With restrictions eased this data is likely to see a continued upward trajectory (Source: TfL).
Forward Rental Occupancy (short-term rental accommodation) bookings for February in London were strong at 48%, hitting almost the same level as the 2019 average. This has remained relatively stable since the end of 2021 (Source: Transparent).
Rankin exhibition – last chance
The Performance by Rankin exhibition closes on Saturday 12 March, so this is your final weekend to visit the exhibition at FUJIFILM House of Photography on Long Acre. The exhibition features photos captured by renowned photographer Rankin of 150 subjects from nearly 60 of London’s shows and theatres, showcasing the range of actors, creatives and technicians who make up our vibrant West End.