Is London living up to its UNESCO music designation? Some say the city’s out of tune [Video]

Nearly four years after London was named a UNESCO City of Music, some of the city’s music insiders say there needs to be a bigger push to attract and retain talent.

However, they say the effort needs to come from people outside of the local music scene, including the City of London, the provincial government and other local businesses.

“I think we are missing some political will,” said Graham Henderson, the president of the London Chamber of Commerce on CBC’s London Morning this week.

“Most of these cities of culture are treated like gems by the jurisdictions in which they reside, and cities around the world have leveraged this designation to get tons of funding to support it,” said Henderson, who was the former president of Music Canada. 

London was named Canada’s first and only UNESCO music city in 2021, joining 74 other cities worldwide, including Salvador, Spain, and Daegu, Korea.

Embracing the City …