...Figures seen by the Guardian show that the London mayor cut funding for Black History Month, a series of events staged in October to celebrate black culture in the capital, from £132,000 to £10,000, though city hall insists the previous figure was £76,000. Africa Day's £100,000 grant from the London Development Agency was axed completely.
Funding for Jewish events was halved to £50,000, while a decision to cut funding for the St Patrick's Day celebration was roundly criticised last year.... Johnson was accused of "subsidising wealthy Americans" after the Guardian reported earlier this year that the development agency, the mayor's economic arm, had allocated £75,000 to USA Day. It emerged yesterday that the mayor has agreed to top this up with a further £25,000 from the Greater London Authority (GLA), bringing the total to £100,000.
Johnson has previously defended the move as part of a drive to attract more American tourists to the capital.
Other events to benefit from a cash boost include St George's Day which increased from £100,000 to £136,000, courtesy of the GLA. ... A spokesman for the mayor insisted that the GLA "is not and cannot be a cash cow nor a financial lifeline".
"Events must have local and community support if they are to add value and make a proper contribution to community cohesion in London, and as has been seen with the celebrations for St Patrick's Day and a new Jewish cultural festival that is coming up, it is possible for communities themselves to create greatly enhanced events, but with reduced GLA funding. The GLA does not own Black History Month or Africa Day, but we would hope community groups would be able to develop programmes that mark these in a similar way."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/feb/17/boris-johnson-slashes-events-fundingA lefty journalist complains hereIt's a good start, but with this economy I don't think London can afford even these reduced handouts.
