London Ticket Bank

The Cultural Philanthropy Foundation launched the London Ticket Bank in 2022 as a one-year initiative in partnership with Cardboard Citizens, the UK's only homeless people's professional theatre company. The project was a direct response to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on cultural participation.*

At a moment when the worsening economic situation put an emphasis on food and energy, the Foundation’s aim was to ensure that Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Access to Culture, was also upheld – ensuring not just survival, but a life worth living. The Foundation convened a network of partners including The Almeida, Barbican, Bush Theatre, Gate Theatre, The National Theatre, Roundhouse, Southbank Centre, Wilton’s Music Hall, The Old Vic, and Picturehouse Cinemas to donate to the scheme tickets which would otherwise be papered, in order that they could be made available at a ‘donate what you can’ rate to those who could otherwise not afford them.

Through our 45 charity partners, the scheme reached a mailing list of 12,000 subscribers, who received fortnightly listings of available tickets in theatre, music, dance, art, and film. 42% of users had a long-term health condition or disability, and 26% were in receipt of state benefits. More than 2300 tickets were taken up.

*Decreased participation in the 5 most deprived groups had grown with the gap in participation between the most and the least deprived increasing from 6.4% to 7.2% (Cultural Participation Monitor, Spring 2022).