About Waltham Forest
The London Borough of Waltham Forest is north of the River Thames in north-east London and is made of five key centres: Leyton, Leytonstone, Chingford, Highams Park and Walthamstow.
We have a strong culture-led diverse community with a history of makers and creators whose creativity, radical thinking and shared sense of purpose has helped drive innovation and progress across the borough. The area has played home to many notable cultural figures, both historical and contemporary, including William Morris, Alfred Hitchcock, Grayson Perry, Fleur East and Damon Albarn.
We submitted our bid to be the first Mayor’s London Borough of Culture in December 2017 and on 27 February 2018 the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced us as the winners of the London Borough of Culture 2019.
Thank you to everyone who got behind our bid. More than 14,000 residents, businesses and our creative communities pledged their support and helped to achieve this spectacular prize.