The London borough of Newham turns 60 this year. To celebrate its diamond jubilee, the east London area – famous as one of the centres of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the home borough of figures including Alexander McQueen, Sonia Boyce, Christine Ohuruogu and Ade Adepitan, and the home of pirate radio station DeJaVu FM that launched the careers of Kano and Ghetts – will be throwing a month-long programme of free events.
This year, the heritage month will celebrate Newham’s diverse communities with the theme ‘Newham at 60: A Borough Like No Other’. Highlights include 60 years of Newham in Motion, celebrating Newham’s skateboarding past with an exhibition and free skate workshops; Between Two Worlds: Tamil lives in Newham, film, storytelling workshops and creative activities celebrating Newham’s Tamil community; The Desi Legacy of Green Street, a documentary film on how Green Street became the heart of the South Asian community in east London; and The Lesbians of Forest Gate, a play showcasing first-person stories of the wider lesbian community of Forest Gate.