The Marble Arch and Edgware Road area is a vibrant business and cultural hub with a historic significance that makes it one of London’s most attractive places to work and visit. Marble Arch London BID gives the district a collective voice, knitting together our diverse local community and businesses.
The BID will build on the successes of the first five years and set a clear path for the revival of the area following the Covid-19 pandemic. We will continue to raise the profile of the district and draw people to Marble Arch through the promotion of events and local marketing, which not only benefit retailers, hotels and restaurants but also helps to improve the working environment for local employees.
Eating Out
Marble Arch London BID helps local employees, residents and visitors discover local restaurants, bars and cafes, promoting the area as a unique dining destination.
Our Eating Out Guide, “Taste of Marble Arch” has proven a popular tool for engaging with businesses and attracting visitors to the area’s dining and leisure quarter. We refresh it yearly and since its launch in 2016 we have distributed over 100,000 copies to local hotels and offices. We continually update our digital Eating Out Guide with just under 100 restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars and delis, as well as local offers.
"The BID’s food tours have been an excellent way of helping people to discover the area’s restaurants and bars, and we look forward to taking part in many more in the future."
Nicole Trytell, Vinoteca, Seymour Place
We have also hosted eight local food tours and participated in the Marylebone Food Festival to showcase restaurants, bars and cafes around Marble Arch to residents, local businesses and influencers.
"We love the BID’s food tours and Eating Out Guide, such fantastic resources for staff and visitors."
Gary Wright, Hunter Boots, Connaught Place
In the next BID term we will launch a new loyalty scheme to help the growing local workforce and residents access fantastic rewards at local restaurants, pubs, cafes and shops. Our new loyalty programme will build links between businesses and the local community, as well as encourage office workers and residents to eat and shop locally and incentivise repeat business and increased spends.
Events
The BID has been working with partners and agencies to showcase the area as a location for cultural, dining and outdoor events from the outset. Our events drive footfall to our businesses, raise awareness of the area’s cultural significance, generate press coverage for our members and position Marble Arch as an event space.
Through our campaign with Westminster City Council and Underbelly, we successfully brought the award-winning musical ‘Five Guys Named Moe’ to the bespoke Marble Arch Theatre in August 2017 with a twice-extended run until March 2018.
The illumination of Marble Arch in the individual colours of the LGBTQ+ Pride flag in celebration of Pride in London in 2019, received UK and European coverage with a collective audience of over 11.5 million.
In June 2018, the BID took part in Processions, a mass participation artwork taking place simultaneously in four major locations across the country to celebrate 100 years of votes for women. We collaborated with Westminster to light Marble Arch in the suffragette colours and involved our members by working with them to create 16 local offers for the 29,000 attendees.
The BID will continue to develop and promote high-impact events to drive significant footfall and press coverage for our members. Events at Marble Arch make the landmark a major visitor destination for local, domestic, and international audiences.
Our Members’ Events have proven popular and bring together local businesses and organisations to get to know one another, network, and better understand the BID’s projects. We will go further in the next five years and introduce social events that connect colleagues from different businesses to help build a sense of community and belonging beyond the office.
We also plan to introduce Community Awards for our members, to recognise and celebrate the commitment of individual volunteering and employer-supported volunteering.
Promoting our Members’ Assets
We showcase our members’ assets through a wide range of channels and generate press coverage for businesses and the Marble Arch and Edgware Road area.
The BID’s Hotels and Venues Group brings the operations and marketing managers from our hotels and venues together to share insights on current challenges, recent successes and to raise awareness of events.
We will build on our relationship with neighbouring West End organisations and work in close collaboration with key partners, such as London & Partners, the international trade, investment and promotion agency for London, to showcase the Marble Arch area to domestic audiences and bring UK visitors back to London after the decline we experienced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The BID has been really helpful from a promotional perspective, helping us spread the word to local visitors, workers and residents."
Rhuaridh Buchanan, Buchanan’s Cheesemonger, Porchester Place
One of our goals for our first term was to strengthen our press and public affairs support. We worked on several campaigns such as the Marble Arch Pride Illumination campaign, which received UK and European coverage with a collective audience of over 11.5 million. Press coverage featured the Hard Rock Hotel, Marriott Park Lane, The Gate Restaurant, Hankies and Connaught Village.
Building on the success of the last five years we will seek wider coverage in the London press and continue to provide PR opportunities for local businesses and for the Marble Arch and Edgware Road area. Our PR strategy will aim to enhance the reputation of the district as a welcoming and thriving destination to shop, visit and work.
Our social media following collectively boasts over 5,300 followers and our website attracts over 4,000 visitors a month. In the next five years, we will continue to uncover the local heritage and build the area’s profile by consolidating our digital presence via our website, culture blog, e-newsletters, and social media channels.
We installed 46 Christmas lights the length of Edgware Road, from the Marylebone Flyover to Marble Arch for the first time in 2016 and every year since then. With a renewed five-year term, the BID will be able to deliver new Christmas lights, to improve the area at one of the most important times of the year for our members.
"Pupils have really enjoyed playing their part in the BID’s activities, from switching on Edgware Road’s Christmas Lights to entertaining elderly residents as part of Silver Sunday."
Victoria Hampton, Connaught House School, Seymour Street
Celebrating our Heritage
Marble Arch London BID has been protecting and promoting the area’s rich heritage to transform it into a great place to do business, work, shop, visit and live.
Our heritage booklet, The Story of Marble Arch, was launched in 2016 and refreshed and reprinted in 2019. This tells the little-known history of how the triumphal arch came to be, its journey through London and its symbolism. Over 20,000 copies have been distributed free to hotels and local businesses to date.
Further bolstering the area’s historical significance, we launched our project with London Underground to erect a permanent Heritage Installation of over 40 panels in the subway from Marble Arch underground station to the Hyde Park exit. The press campaign for the heritage tunnel reached a collective audience of 100,000.
"The district’s heritage is one of our biggest assets and the BID’s activities promoting the local cultural offer are widely appreciated by our colleagues, who communicate the exciting initiatives to our guests."
Alison Morton, Marriott Hotel, Park Lane
Our Culture Blog features nearly 80 stories about the businesses and historical figures that have made this area their home, and tales of the inspiration behind public art and memorials.
In the next five years we will continue to raise awareness of the area’s cultural significance through cultural projects and events, as well as our popular Culture Blog.
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