Council’s “cultural passport” will help remove financial barriers stopping young people enjoying culture, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

The Last Days of Pompeii exhibition (credit Newham Council) — *The Last Days of Pompeii* exhibition (credit Newham Council)

“Thousands” of young people in Newham will get access to cheap or free tickets to cultural events as part of a council-run programme.

Newham Council says its “cultural passport” will help remove financial barriers stopping young people enjoying culture.

Lily, who uses the council’s Shipman Youth Zone, said: “The cultural passport will give young people the chance to experience culture first-hand and meet people who can inspire our futures, learn new things and even discover careers we hadn’t thought about before.”

The cultural passport is the result of a partnership between the council and the Ticket Bank website.

Events on offer include tickets to the Hootanany music venue in Brixton, Charlton Athletic FC men and women’s games, Chelsea FC women’s team and for London Lions basketball games.

Ticket Bank acquires spare tickets from event organisers and promoters and offers them at discount rates or for free to its members. This means the number of tickets available will be limited.

To be eligible, users have to be on means-tested benefits or be given a sign-up code by one of Ticket Bank’s partner organisations.

The council told the Local Democracry Reporting Service it is distributing thousands of codes to people who use its children and young people’s services.

Eligible people have to be aged between eleven and 18, or up to 25 if they have special educational needs or disabilities.

Newham mayor Rokhsana Fiaz launched the programme at The Last Days of Pompeii exhibition at Immerse LDN in the Royal Docks last week.

She said: “In Newham, we believe that the spark of creativity should never be limited by a person’s background or their bank balance.

“By opening the doors to world-class exhibitions, performances, and creative experiences, we are empowering the next generation to grow in confidence and see themselves as the leaders of the creative industries.”

The council says the partnership is free to the council, but comes with a small booking fee for users. It says it looking for ways to absorb this cost in the future.

It comes after the council cut funding for free theatre tickets for school children last year.

The council’s 2025 budget included scrapping free theatre tickets for secondary school children, worth £62,000.

It also reduced its budget for primary school theatre trips and scrapped the opportunity for schools to bid for arts and culture project grants.

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