At the Southbank Centre, we encourage both established and emerging performers to participate in one of our seasonal auditions in order to obtain their performing licence.
This allows successful buskers to perform for 12 months along the Queen’s Walk, one of London’s top tourist destinations, which runs alongside the Thames river.
The Southbank Centre site includes the section of The Queen’s Walk that connects the London Eye to the Royal Festival Hall.
Busking has long been part of London, enriching the capital and bringing its public spaces to life, with entertainment freely on offer from performers such as musicians, magicians, comedians, artists including street artists, dancers, acrobats and mime artists.
Under our licence scheme, we don’t include activities that incorporate the sale of goods and/or services, for example portrait artists, balloon sellers and tarot card reading.
We’re proud of the diversity of acts along The Queen’s Walk, bringing life to our outdoor spaces and welcoming millions of visitors each year to our site.