Nine boroughs bidding to become London's next 'Borough of Culture' - and what they say

'I'm super excited to see such a positive reaction to the mayor's London Borough of Culture award. It shows that across London, our boroughs recognise the importance of culture and believe in the value it brings to communities. We're looking forward to announcing the winners next year.' - Justine Simons OBE, London's deputy mayor for culture

Despite being a fantastic place to live and work and with hidden gems generally known only to local people, Barnet is not recognised as a hotbed of culture. It called on residents earlier this year to share their ideas by joining the borough's cultural canvas movement, with the goal of building a big canvas of cultural activities from art, literature, film and theatre through to sport, music, spoken word, events and food festivals where people can express themselves creatively.

Read at www.standard.co.uk