London Legacy

Brunswick Group has been hired by the London Legacy Development Corp. to promote the East Bank, a new cultural center located in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Formed to deliver the legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games, LLDC oversees the development of the East Bank as a brand new destination for innovation, the arts, creativity and learning.

The East Bank will feature the BBC Music Studios, UAL’s London College of Fashion, University College London, Sadler Wells and the V&A East Museum.

It is expected to attract 1.5M visitors per-year, create 2,500 jobs and generate a $1.8B annual boost to the economy.

Brunswick is handling a six-month campaign to forge foundational messaging for the East Bank, which won’t be fully opened until 2025.

It will position the East Bank as “the ‘must visit’ place in London, where cutting edge creativity meets glorious open parkland. Where visitors and locals can experience London’s creativity in all its diversity and be surprised, entertained and enthralled through art, fashion, festivals, music and dance,” according to the firm’s proposal.

Brunswick also notes tensions between positioning East Bank as the "coolest new place to visit in London" and being sensitive to "local engagement and the benefits to local communities.”

It also may have to deal with “accusations of gentrification and ensuring the East Bank remains accessible to the local communities in Newham, Tower Hamlets and Hackney.”

There’s concern about the “cost-of-living crisis which means that cultural projects can come under criticism if seen not to be working hard for local jobs and the economy.”

Brunswick also expects comparisons of London with Paris, which will be the site of the 2024 Olympics.

It anticipates commentary about “Paris being positioned in the ascendancy and London, potentially, on the decline.

Brunswick believes the East Bank pitch is “pivotal in showing how London has gone from strength to strength since the Olympics, despite Brexit and Covid.”