London’s ‘Loved & Wanted’ Message Reaffirms Its Commitment to Inclusivity and Belonging

This Valentine’s Day, London delivered a powerful statement of inclusivity and belonging as the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, unveiled Loved & Wanted, a new initiative created in partnership with McCann London. Designed to celebrate the capital’s rich diversity, it sends a clear message: every Londoner—regardless of background—is valued, embraced, and has a place in this city. Through striking visuals and messaging, Loved & Wanted reinforces London’s reputation as one of the world’s most welcoming and inclusive places to live.

The campaign comes six months after disorder took place across towns and cities in the UK, and at a time when fear and division are being spread in the UK and around the world. Loved & Wanted serves as a direct affirmation that London remains a beacon of hope, resilience, and multiculturalism. The campaign brings together a broad range of organisations and community groups to show the world that diversity is London’s greatest strength and that people from all backgrounds are celebrated and welcomed. Loved & Wanted is about celebrating those acts of love: the everyday gestures that build solidarity, the small kindnesses that ripple outwards, and the bold actions that challenge injustice.

Mel Arrow, CSO of McCann London, commented: “Our job as communications experts is to find the right words, but in this case, Sadiq Khan found them. His tweet, in response to last year’s far-right riots, said everything we wanted to. We have simply given it life. And we are so proud to have done so. We want this slogan to be used long after today, and to give everyone proud of London’s diversity a dose of hope. Perhaps they’ll feel a little bit prouder and a little bit closer to their community after seeing it. We certainly do.”

McCann chose a modular design route, allowing them to flex, recolour and repurpose the creative easily for spots across London, from posters to shop window stickers. During the campaign’s creative exploration, McCann engaged St John’s CE Primary School in Enfield to design their ampersands. Out of all the submissions, a KS2 student, Olivia, was selected with her inspired love heart ampersand which has gone on to be used across the city.

Ben Conway, Creative at McCann London said, “The ampersand was an exciting turning point, that connects Loved & Wanted together in not only showing the diversity, but the flair of this great city and the people that call it home. We were especially proud to work with a primary school in North London when we tasked them to create one of their ampersands. One of the children from Year 6 smoked all of the development we had done and drew the utterly inspired love heart ampersand. It went on to be a lead design for the campaign. It’s great for young people to have their say and get involved in the work.”

The campaign embraces London’s diverse communities, sending a message to all Londoners across different backgrounds, including migrant and faith communities, LGBTQIA+ Londoners, and those impacted by international conflicts. Loved & Wanted extends across the capital with multilingual advertising in community spaces and digital platforms, having been translated into the 17 most spoken languages in the city.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “London is the greatest city in the world because of the incredible people who live here. Londoners come from every walk of life, from every religious, ethnic and social background and from all over the world to make this fantastic city. Sadly, we are living in increasingly uncertain and unsettling times, and I know the worry and concern that this is having in our communities. That’s why we’re bringing together organisations and community groups across the capital to send a clear message that all Londoners are loved and wanted in our great city. London is, and always be, a place for everyone.”

The campaign is now live across print, OOH, flyposters, digital and social and Outernet London. The visuals displayed, created by McCann London, will run for the next two weeks at Outernet London’s “Now Trending” space, hero’ing stories from Londoners about how they feel loved and wanted in the city.

The campaign features a series of adverts across the capital, in community centres, cultural organisations, libraries, faith buildings, volunteering centres and online. More than 110 organisations have signed up to share postcards and window stickers, including the Felix Project, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Black Cultural Centre, the English National Ballet, the London Museum, Bernie Grant Centre, Southbank Centre, churches, mosques and synagogues.

Jessica Dracup-Holland, CMO, Outernet said, “Unity and embracing diverse communities is something London and Londoners have always excelled at. But in a world where division is sadly prevalent in many aspects of life, we can never take it for granted. That’s why the Loved & Wanted campaign is so important, and we at Outernet are so pleased to be able to partner on this important activation. Bringing people together from all walks of life is at the heart of what we do, right in the centre of London.”

Media partners supporting the campaign have gifted £573,000 worth of free advertising space, to get the message out to Londoners through out-of-home advertising, including JC Decaux, Jack Arts, London Lites, Landsec and Outernet. In addition, over 130 community organisations, businesses, faith centres, libraries, and cultural organisations have so far supported by sharing campaign materials in their spaces and with their networks across the capital.

The campaign’s striking message ‘London is, and always will be, a place for everyone’ was previewed earlier this month when it illuminated Piccadilly Lights.

Furthermore, the campaign provides tangible support for London’s communities including:

• Funding Initiatives – financial support through the Community Recovery Fund and Mayor’s Community Weekend 2025, thanks to funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to empower local projects that bring people together.

• Support for Local Organisations – A community toolkit, made available to councils and grassroots organisations, to help them promote social cohesion at a local level.

Credits

Client: Greater London Authority

Agencies: McCann London, Craft London

Agency Partners: Jelly, Studio Edgar, BIGBUG Productions London

Brand

Greater London Authority

Senior Advisor to the Mayor - Marketing: Puja Parmar

Head of Marketing Campaigns: Melissa Darby

Deputy Head of Marketing Campaigns: Charisma Ghorpade

Head of Creative: Michelle Jones

Senior Campaign Lead: Alice Owen

Marketing Officer: Jaanuja Sriskantha

Agency/Creative: McCann London

Chief Creative Officer: Lynsey Atkin

Chief Strategy Officer: Mel Arrow

Executive Creative Director: Regan Warner

Art Director: Lauryn Raymond

Copywriter: Ben Conway

Head of Design: Lisa Carrana

Design Director: Ben Anthony

Designer: Roland Williams

Designer: Kyle Ayuba

Junior Designer: Chloe Delhumeau

Junior Strategist: Mary Mekonen

Creative Apprentice: David Edson De Almeida Armada

Creative Apprentice: Nadia Sweeney

Business Lead: Kimren Dhesi

Account Director: Raashi Agarwal

Production: Craft London

Director of Integrated Production: Jack Bayley

Senior Producer: Luke Stazaker

Print Producer: Martin McGinn

Artworker: Robbie Maynard

Assistant Producer: Oliver Howkins  

Sound Engineer: Rick Morris

Talent and Rights Manager: Paige Cowan

Jelly

Global Head of Production: Laura Thomas

Executive Producer: Sue Loughlin

Studio Edgar

Motion Designer: David Luepschen

BIGBUG Productions London

DOP: Tom Webb

Photographer: Gabriel Bush

Videographer: Jake Sampson

Assistant: Daniel Barnes