City Councillor Matthew Bell lives in Cloth Fair – the original site of Bartholomew Fair – and spent several years trying to interest people in re-staging the event.

Here he tells the story of how the Destination City programme, aimed at attracting visitors to the Square Mile, provided the context this year for the Corporation to invest £1.3 million in a City-wide Spectacular.

Matthew writes:
When Bartholomew Fair re-opens in the City next week, after a gap of 168 years, there will be two opening ceremonies. One will be a spectacular aerial ballet performed high up on St Paul’s Cathedral, while the other will be a traditional ceremony with the Lord Mayor cutting a ribbon.

This new era of Bartholomew Fair is going to be the biggest ever to have been staged by the City of London, so we are witnessing history over the next few weeks. The Corporation is wanting to get people in to see the rich cultural gems of every age that you trip up over with virtually every step when wandering around the Square Mile. The City was after all, London for the bulk of its history.

Read Matthew’s article here

City Councillor John Griffiths wrote this article for the OnLondon site – original here. Thanks for permission to republish.

The City Corporation is continuing its bid to broaden perceptions of the area and attract more visitors

Bringing a modern twist to a festival which dates back to the 12th Century, the City of London’s revival of Bartholomew Fair is the latest pitch in its Destination City campaign to capture a share of the growing number of visitors now returning, post-pandemic, to the capital.

Originally a three-day gathering for trading cloth and other goods which coincided with the 24 August feast of St Bartholomew, the event grew to become London’s preeminent leisure fair, lasting for a couple of weeks and attracting visitors and acts from across the country.

Update: the Evening Standard has picked up on the plans saying “The city is increasingly trying to throw off its “nine to five” image and become a leisure destination for Londoners and others”

When Matthew Bell and I floated the idea of re-staging Bartholomew Fair (1123-1855) in the EC1 Echo last year little did we realise that the City Corporation would pick up the idea with such enthusiasm.

The agenda for next week’s Policy and Resources committee offers plans for a contemporary version of the Fair that includes a bespoke aerial performance on the exterior of St Paul’s Cathedral, and “a magical and engaging narrative projection trail through the City of London on building facades at six points across The City.”