In defence of the Southbank Centre

In last week’s Spectator magazine, Norman Lebrecht accused the Southbank Centre of being a ‘subsidy guzzler in need of privatisation’. Mr Lebrecht has, as he admits, spent the past 30 years complaining about it. Nothing, it seems, will shift his view.

I admit I’m biased, as the Southbank Centre’s director of music. Yet I do think it is right to argue that the Southbank is a rare example in London of a true civic space: a social and artistic hub; a place where people can spend time without having to spend money; where they can work, meet up, sing in choirs, dance, discover fledgeling bands, visit the National Poetry Library, let their children play in a fountain designed by artists.

Far from making the halls of the Southbank ‘a laughing stock’, this vibrancy and openness are key to its attraction.