The Save Soho campaign began in 2014 when one of the area’s nightclubs, Madame Jojo’s, closed. Last year, the club reopened, but the Save Soho campaign went on, and was certainly getting plenty of media attention.
This campaign started because the colourful character of Soho could be under threat from property development and gentrification.
http://savesoho.com/
Soho is the area of Central London that lies to the south of Oxford Street, to the east of Regent Street, to the north of Leicester Square and to the west of Charing Cross Road. It only covers one square mile, but it’s a very colourful square mile. Here you will find jazz clubs like Ronnie Scott’s, cafés like Bar Italia, as well as artists, musicians, LGBTQ+ people, film companies and strip joints.
For anybody who feels a bit different, who doesn’t belong anywhere, or who has a sense of not being able to belong somewhere or not being welcome somewhere, Soho has always been a destination. And obviously, the Huguenots, the refugees, the French revolutionaries, later on, the Italian community and then, much more recently, the gay community are welcome. Indeed, there’s a feeling of: “It’s OK, we can go to Soho, they’ll accept us, it will be OK there.”
Soho has always been a place that has overlooked the rules and regulations, not to the detriment or danger of anybody, but with a friendly, knowing tolerance for people. It don’t mean criminals. It mean, there are certain places where, if you ran down the street with no clothes on, you would probably end up in the back of a police van; in Soho, probably not. Probably everybody would applaud because it is like a film set — and it’s the only film set and the only stage where, as a member of the audience, you get to be part of the cast.
The Save Soho campaign therefore raises a question that goes far beyond Soho: can we modernise our cities without erasing the places that made them human? Maybe the most entrepreneurial idea is not always to create something new, but to recognise the value of what already exists — and find a way to make sure it survives. Indeed, the most valuable thing a city can offer may not be what it builds, but what it allows to happen between people who would never have met anywhere else.
Entrepreneurship is not only about creating the future; sometimes, it is about recognising what is worth preserving from the past and finding a new way to make it live again.
©Image: http://savesoho.com/
The singer-songwriter Tim Arnold is a founder member of the Save Soho campaign. There’s a interview of him about what’s Soho Campaign:
You can find more information on the following videos:
Video: Stephen Fry and Tim Arnold – «Save Soho».
Stephen Fry and Tim Arnold of Save Soho are interviewed by Brent Adams of Soho Radio. 17th December 2014. ‘Save Soho’ logo by Justin Bovington © 2014
Listen to the full interview here: https://www.mixcloud.com/sohoradio/save-soho-brent-w-stephen-fry-tim-arnold-17122014/
Video: «SAVE SOHO».
Stephen Fry, Ben Miller, Shane Richie, Jessie Wallace, Gary Kemp, Paul O’Grady MBE, Jill Halfpenny, Steve Furst, June Brown MBE, Jospeh McGann, Julian Dutton, Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, Soho Parish School, Helen Lederer, Tracie Bennett, Andy Serkis, Tim Arnold and Benedict Cumberbatch support.
Film conceived and edited by Tim Arnold © 2014
Save Soho is a coalition of performers, residents and politicians who have now come together out of concern after the closure and repossession of world renown club Madame Jojo’s.
The aim of Save Soho is to protect and nurture iconic venues that are disappearing at a terrifying rate. These closures are an attack on Soho’s vibrant history and enduring character. With the support of the mayor of London, Save Soho will liaise with developers to achieve a compromise and halt this destruction. Save Soho is not just for today. Save Soho is here to stay.
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