As of Thursday, April 17, busking is now officially banned from in Leicester Square after a judge ruled in favour of office workers, who have described the street entertainment as “psychological torture”.
At Westminster Magistrates’ court, staff at Global Radio said that they had been “plagued” by repetitive set lists and noise distractions. But parading the pavement, Londoners do not feel the same about the ruling, with some calling the measure “extreme”.
“They’re only bringing joy to people’s lives, they’re only singing or dancing or whatever, aren’t they?” said one member of the public.
Some put forward that psychological torture in work environments was not comparable to “a couple of buskers making maybe a bit too much noise”.
One Londoner pointed out that for many buskers, it is their only means of earning a livelihood.
Even those not local to London said they saw buskers as being part of the London culture. Some admitted that a level of control might be “useful”, but questioned whether an outright ban was the answer.
Entertainers who defy the ban will face fines and risk having their equipment confiscated. Their licence to perform elsewhere in the borough is also under threat.
It is not the first regulation of buskers in London. The recent ruling comes after Covent Garden street performers were asked to comply with a regulatory licensing system in 2023.
However, elsewhere in London, rules around busking have not changed on the back of the new ruling. Leicester Square may have gone quiet, but the debate is anything but.
