Games London: Mayor backs major new video games festival

April event is centrepiece of 1.2m initiative to make London the world's game development capital

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is backing a new initiative to make London a leading creative hub in the global video games industry. Titled Games London, the project, backed with a 1.2m investment from the London Enterprise Panel, will include a two-week games festival taking place in venues around the city.

Between 1-10 April, the first London Games Festival will include a consumer games exhibition at Somerset House, a series of talks at the British Film Institute and a London Games Fringe of smaller events. The festival is also set to feature two already established events: the popular indie games gathering, Rezzed, and the annual Bafta video game awards.