The Ticket Bank to offer thousands of tickets to London shows to those most impacted by the cost-of-living crisis

The Ticket Bank has announced a ticket initiative from the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation and Cardboard Citizens, in partnership with some of London’s leading cultural organisations: The Almeida Theatre, Barbican, Bush Theatre, Gate Theatre, The National Theatre, Roundhouse and Tara Theatre.

Launching on 9 January as a one-year programme, The Ticket Bank will make an estimated 1,000 tickets a week available to those who would otherwise not be able to afford to engage with culture during the cost-of-living crisis.

To date, seven leading cultural organisations have committed to the charitable initiative with more to be announced in the new year. Each cultural organisation has pledged tickets for theatre, comedy, live music and dance performances at a donate-what-you-can rate via The Ticket Bank web page on the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation website. A donation can be of any amount and even the most modest of gifts will be celebrated. 

The Ticket Bank will be working with the following partners to ensure that tickets reach the people and communities historically under-served by cultural organisations: 

Centrepoint, a charity working with young people experiencing housing precarity and homelessness;

The House of St Barnabas, a Soho-based charity that helps London's homeless back into work; 

The Longford Trust, a charity supporting young adults to rebuild their lives through education after serving a prison sentence;

Positive Action in Housing, an independent, anti-racist homelessness and human rights charity dedicated to supporting refugees and migrants to rebuild their lives;

A Network of Food Banks across the capital providing emergency food and support to people locked in poverty;

and relevant Outreach programmes of cultural organisations as well as Cardboard Citizens, Union Chapel and The Big House.

These partners will provide access codes direct to their programme participants to enable them to book tickets via The Ticket Bank.

Artistic Director and joint CEO of Cardboard Citizens, Chris Sonnex, said: “Access to art and culture are essential to the human condition, a human right. If people can’t afford these riches, society is poorer off. I’m incredibly proud of the London arts and culture community coming together to offer tickets city wide to people who, through no fault of their own, are on or under a poverty line. It is a real act of change, and it will give many people, who couldn’t otherwise, the opportunity to be entertained, to see other worlds, to escape and most importantly to dream”.

To support the further roll-out of The Ticket Bank by making a donation and for further information, please click here.

Tickets for Good also offer a scheme to provide tickets to all kinds of events across the UK, with further information here.