Announced in August 2017 by Prime Ministers May and Abe during the former’s visit to Tokyo, a major season of culture will take place in Japan between autumn 2019 (Rugby World Cup) and summer 2020 (Olympics and Paralympics). The British Council, working together with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Department for International Trade, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and other partners, will lead the activities in Japan. At the same time, the Japanese government will lead on Japanese activities in the UK. We aim to promote the UK as an attractive destination in which to invest, to study and to travel and to build greater levels of trust between Japan and the UK through the arts and the creative industries.
Plans are already well under way. The Season’s themes have been decided (inclusion & well-being, technology & innovation, and art in public spaces) and in November 2017 we held consultations in London, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh and Manchester to engage with as wide a cross-section of the UK’s cultural sector as possible. You can download the summary, slide presentation and FAQs here.
To get involved, please contact UKSeasons@britishcouncil.org.
To learn more about our Festivals and Seasons, please visit our website.
