The theme of this blog is: 'It is an error to think globalisation is purely an economic process - it has deep social, cultural and environmental consequences.'
Using this as a guide, between 2000 and the beginning of 2008 London built what was widely recognised internationally as one of the most successful and powerful city marketing machines the world. I should declare a direct interest here as at that time I was the Mayor of London's Director of Economic and Business Policy and responsible for the international promotion of London, with a whole team of professionals working on this, but the power of London's marketing and promotion was widely internationally recognised.
This marketing and promotion machine helped draw record tourist numbers to London, helped attract record levels of foreign investment, helped promote the buzz that saw London rated at that time ahead of New York as number one city in the world, and it was part of winning the Olympic Games. It had real impact in the huge new markets of China, Russia and India - crucial strategically as these economies will become even more important markets following the international credit crunch.
Readers of this blog might like to see some of the results of this marketing and promotion as it realised its goals in terms of the character of London it projected - as the most international city in the world in an economic, social and cultural sense. This is the key to Londoners jobs and prosperity. If the results are not agreed with it is because the content is not agreed with - the image of London presented is the one that was intended.
It may be of interest to readers to know that this London marketing machine was deliberately destroyed by the new Mayor of London Boris Johnson. This did great damage to London and is to the advantage of London's competitors.
The way in which the globalisation interacts with the specific character of each city is naturally unique. Its particular form cannot be copied from London, and no other city can mount campaigns exactly like London. But these examples show how London marketed itself and help explain the success in the results achieved. The three videos on this post deal with China.
The Mayor of London's Visit to China April 2006
Chinese TV coverage of the Mayor of London's visit to Shanghai 13 April 2006
The China in London season February 2006