Hackney is a borough that has experienced high levels of poverty and inequality over many years. It is also a place with real strengths – a young ethnically diverse borough with rich cultural and community assets and great entrepreneurial spirit. Hackney is a truly global borough, now home to more than 207,000 people from six continents and a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. After decades of decline during the latter half of the twentieth century, Hackney’s population has started to grow thanks to natural increase and migration, resulting in a population with relatively few people over the age of 55.

Hackney’s history is strongly associated with theatre, without question the most famous theatre in the borough is the Hackney Empire, which opened in 1901. The Empire’s hall of fame includes entertainers such as Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel, George Formby and more recently acts ranging from Jimmy Carr to Soul II Soul. Hackney also offers great markets such as Broadway and Ridley Road and plenty of bars and restaurants in Shoreditch, Dalston and Stoke Newington.