Street entertainers are to be allowed to perform on a privately-owned stretch of London Docklands for the first time, after its owners announced plans to award busking permits in a bid to revitalise the area.

St Katharine Docks in Wapping - next to the Tower of London and owned by property company F&C Reit - is now looking for performers such as magicians, jugglers and musicians to entertain in one of four designated zones within the site.

One of the proposed busking areas sits on the riverfront next to Tower Bridge, while another would see performers make use of a courtyard space known as Centre Basin.

The street performers idea is part of a wider initiative aimed at raising awareness of St Katharine Docks and increasing visitors to it, which is being overseen by Gossip Consultancy on behalf of F&C Reit. It is hoped that the initiative will help enliven the area, in much...

[ Continued ]

(LONDON) It seems there simply aren't enough buskers in London's tube these days to satisfy the growing masses.Also known as the underground subway, a clear and present message to the "powers that be" is rumbling around the tube. Buskers believe many more should be permitted to display their art form in the nation's capital.

As it turns out, you can now take a quick internet lesson on How to be a Tube Busker with a recent article at the Londonist.com.

There's only one thing standing in the way - "the system". Tube busking has now been legal for 10 years. The article goes into a step-by-step process that may, in the end, prove the licensing procedure to be entirely futile.

You will be judged by a 3-person jury that may or may not be qualified to determine what is art and what...

[ Continued ]

(UTAH) With it's first ever Buskerfest, Salt Lake City has started to come out of it's shell in regards to street theater and performances. Citizens of the city are calling for more pitches to perform their art.Kim Angeli is determined to get more street performers in Salt Lake City - a place that hasn’t always been receptive to the idea. Angeli hopes the SLC Busker Fest will help spread the wealth and connect performers and audiences.

"I would love to have performers on every corner. Art and artistic performance makes an urban environment wonderful and begs to be visited repeatedly," posts Lance Hemmert.

"Abby the Spoon Lady is the most amazing Busker!" cries another.

Most professional buskers are...
...

[ Continued ]

(YORK) City Halls often see busking as a potential problem to be managed and restricted. The victory with the York City Council resulted in a document designed to encourage and welcome buskers from all over the world.An online petition was started by the Keep Streets Live Campaign. It was signed by over 4000 people and called on York to scrap their restrictive policy and work with the busking community to produce new guidance. It seems while one town is outlawing busking and street performing, another is begging for buskers to revitalize their historic and shopping districts.

The York document may influence London's policy that criminalizes street musicians. A campaign has been set up to challenge it and protect Britain's public spaces. The Camden dispute has organized buskers consulting in the House of Lords, taking the...

[ Continued ]

(CAPE TOWN) Buskers and street-performers are busy celebrating City Hall's decision to legalize performing in Cape Town.The South African city made news earlier this year when blind busker Lunga Nono was beaten by metro police for busking in St. George's Mall.

Charges against the busker have recently been dropped in favor of new legislation. Nono's guitar was broken in the melee which took place in front of his family and onlooking tourists. A music shop donated a new guitar to Nono who has filed a lawsuit.

Now that the city has come to it's senses about the performing artists and tourism, just about anything goes. This includes street musicians, acrobats, clowning, comedy, contortions, dance, singing, fire skills, mime, living statues, music performance, puppeteering, storytelling, poetry, painting,...

[ Continued ]