Wednesday 5th December, 2001

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and West End cast launch “The Greatest Show on Earth” to boost London tourism.

The Mayor will be joined by cast members from top London shows to launch “The Greatest Show on Earth”, a promotion which will offer Londoners and visitors a bargain night out in London’s theatres and restaurants – plus free bus travel to get there and back.

Dozens of celebrities, including Richard E Grant, Eddie Izzard, Joan Collins and Sophie Dahl, have been photographed for a poster to publicise the campaign. This will be unveiled at the launch and simultaneously at a poster site in London. The promotion is part of the London Tourism Action Group campaign to encourage Londoners and tourists back to the West End, which has been hit by falling visitor numbers since September 11.

Click on the image above to see a larger version of it.

Update: 17th January 2002

Two weeks left to take advantage of the Mayor’s discounted theatre ticket offer.

People wanting to take advantage of Ken Livingstone’s ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ theatre offer still have two weeks left to buy tickets after the booking period was extended due to unprecendented demand.

Over 42,000 theatre tickets have been sold since the Mayor’s West End theatre offer opened on December 5th. Because of its huge success the booking period, due to close on Christmas Eve, has been extended until 31 January 2002 with tickets available for more than 30 of London’s top West End productions up until 17 February.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said, “I am delighted that my ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ offer has received such a fantastic response. The theatre ticket offer has been immensely successful and there are still massive savings to be had for our West End ticket offer which includes a discounted meal in one of London’s leading restaurants and bus travel home for free. Book as soon as possible, because there are just two weeks left to grab your discounted seats.”

The Greatest Show on Earth is supported by leading actors, comedians, models and celebrity chefs, including Richard E Grant, Linda Gray, Sophie Dahl and Dame Judi Dench, who lined up to be photographed in a chorus line with Ken Livingstone for a poster publicising the offer. The poster has been displayed on 15 of London’s main roads.

Tickets are available for over 30 West End performances, at £10, £15 and £20, representing a massive saving for two more weeks. In addition, purchasers will be given a restaurant voucher that can be exchanged for a two-course meal for just £12 or three courses for £15 at over ninety top London restaurants. Free transport is offered as part of the package, with two bus tickets allocated with every theatre ticket purchased.

Book your theatre ticket book online at www.OfficialLondonTheatre.co.uk or call the hot line number on 0870 840 2468.

The next phase of the Mayor’s “Greatest Show on Earth” drive to bring tourists back to the West End, focusing on another sector badly hit by the tourism downturn, will be announced soon.

Update: 4th February 2002

Mayor’s West End ticket offer is a hit!

The Mayor was delighted to announce that when booking lines closed on 31 January for his Greatest Show on Earth ticket offer, over 47,000 tickets had been sold and thousands of restaurant bookings made. This is the highest number of sales ever achieved for a West End promotion, with 50% of sales made on-line being another first. The promotion proved so popular with the public that the booking period had to be extended from Christmas Eve until the end of January.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said: “I am delighted that this offer has been such a success in attracting people back into the West End and encouraging a new audience to experience some of the best theatre in the world. I will be looking to build on the scheme’s successes for the same period next year, as there is generally a natural downturn in January’s theatre cycle anyway and this is something that could benefit the industry.”

Paul James, Commercial Manager for the Society of London Theatre said: “At a most difficult time for West End theatre, the Mayor of London’s ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ ticket offer has been an absolute lifeline for many West End productions, and cushioned the impact of the downturn for all shows involved after the events of September 11th. The promotion meant more than 47,000 seats were sold the great majority of which would not have been sold otherwise. The Mayor’s promotion, together with the planned distribution of thousands of free tickets to targeted groups, will have been an outstanding success in two ways: in supporting a vital component of the London economy, and in introducing many thousands of people to the magic of Theatreland.”

West End theatres saw a plummet in revenue figures – in some cases down from last year’s figures by as much as almost 15%, in 11 out of the 13 weeks immediately following the events of 11 September.

Since the offer opened in November, dozens of hotel rooms have been booked and thousands of meals sold through participating restaurants.

News of this offer’s success comes as a campaign to sell London to the rest of the UK under ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ banner was launched last week. Managed by London Tourist Board and Convention Bureau (LTB), on behalf of the Mayor’s London Tourism Action Group (LTAG), the campaign aims to drive visits and overnight stays to London. With funding of £500,000 and further private sector contributions, this is the largest domestic marketing campaign ever undertaken by LTB.

The Greatest Show on Earth is supported by leading actors, comedians, models and celebrity chefs, including Richard E Grant, Linda Gray, Sophie Dahl and Dame Judi Dench, who appear in a photograph with Ken Livingstone on a poster publicising the offer.

Tickets were available for over 30 West End performances, at £10, £15 and £20. In addition, purchasers were given a restaurant voucher to be exchanged for a two-course meal for just £12 or three courses for £15 at over ninety top London restaurants. Free transport was offered as part of the package, with two bus tickets allocated with every theatre ticket purchased. Although the offer has now closed, tickets have been booked for performances up to the middle of February as people continue to enjoy a discounted evening out.