Cultural scene in London more relaxed than expected | CD Voice

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Sitting down on the pathway next to London's century-old Royal Albert Hall, I could not help admiring the magnificent concert hall's red and gold wall and mosaic frieze celebrating the greatness of the arts and sciences.

I was sitting with a friend in a long queue, waiting to get tickets for this summer's BBC Proms concerts at the venue, an enjoyable activity that has turned into a ritual over the years. Perhaps we keep coming back for the great music, or maybe it's to feel the connection with other music lovers in the queue.

BBC Proms has a reputation as the world's largest and most democratic music festival. Its 5 pound ($6.44) standing tickets are affordable, but the most popular concerts can take hours of queueing to get in, which is a real test of audience dedication.

Over the years, I have grown to appreciate and love the down-to-earth nature of London's cultural scene.

As a child, I had once imagined the British capital's arts scene to be dominated by a highly sophisticated posh audience, of ladies in sparkling evening dresses, and gentlemen in black tie suits, just as I had read about in Dickens novels.

Yes, such scenes certainly exist today, although they are far from the norm. Among cultural activities, there are many casual outdoor concerts and plays, where the atmosphere is lively, creative and inspiring.

Casual shows at Regent Park's Open Air Theatre offer a great chance to combine a performance with a picnic, while the live music playing inside the Victoria and Albert Museum on days it opens late are a breath of fresh air to a site full of the weight of history and civilization.

Even the financial hub of Canary Wharf now enjoys a rich cultural program of free pop-up outdoor concerts and plays. This year, it showed Shakespeare classics including A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

The Royal Opera House continued to show the grand classic opera La Boheme of course, but this summer it was broadcast live for free across residential public spaces, such as Canada Square, Trafalgar Square, Hammersmith, Walthamstow, and Woolwich, making the classic art form accessible to a far greater audience.

For me, participating in all these activities is fun, comfortable, and truly enjoyable. They also help me feel increasingly connected to both Britain's rich cultural heritage and like-minded individuals from all over the world who now live around me in the same city.

Within this scene of cultural diversity and inclusiveness, arts from China are also becoming increasingly popular among London's local audience.

Last summer, Shanghai Ballet Company's Echoes of Eternity attracted a full house at London Coliseum. Highlights at London's Sadler's Wells include the National Ballet of China's The Peony Pavilion and famous Chinese dancer Yang Liping's Under Siege.  

As a Chinese person living in London, I have been touched to see the city's local audience charmed by high-quality performances from China. Sitting down to enjoy these shows with them, I also felt a strong spiritual connection with my Chinese roots, and, despite the geographical distance between the UK and China, I felt much closer to home.

About the author & broadcaster

Cecily Liu is a London correspondent for China Daily, covering mainly financial news. She was born in Chengdu, grew up in New Zealand, and graduated from University College London with a BA in English Literature. 

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