• Nadia Broccardo is Chief Executive for Team London Bridge. In this piece Nadia explores her thoughts on this year’s theme of ‘Power.’

 

Power – aggression, arrogance, force, control. These were the words that came to mind when the theme for LFA2020 was launched. In a time when so many are seeking power of our thoughts, our spend and our time, how would the London Bridge area respond and what is Team London Bridge’s role in shaping it?

 

Taking a few days to digest and question the connotations and emotional response to ‘Power’, it is clear that there are exciting opportunities to interrogate this poignant theme, especially at a time when our country is deeply divided, the world’s politics is dictatorial, and our capital is trying to manoeuvre through the change.

 

In London Bridge we have the powerful beacon of The Shard, the power of democracy in City Hall and Southwark Council, and the power of research and education within the medi-culture cluster around Kings’ College London and Guy’s Hospital. The new London Bridge Station is one of the best examples of the power of engineering you’ll find in the UK, and the power of place and community is embodied in Team London Bridge itself.

 

In June 2020 we have the chance to amplify these very different interpretations of the theme and I’m most interested in how our response inspires our most powerful instrument – thought.