Don’t label us - we all share our city’s history

What was true then is true now: every new arrival in the capital has the chance to work hard, put down roots and become a Londoner. Understanding and sharing the past brings us together. This is the inspiration behind the Mayor's new festival, launched today, to celebrate London's past, present and future. The Story of London will run throughout June, with more than 400 events in every corner of the capital.

London has been at the centre of great events for more than 1,000 years. The past is alive in the buildings that surround us.

We can stand in front of Traitors' Gate and imagine Anne Boleyn being escorted through it on her way to incarceration and execution in the Tower on the orders of her husband, Henry VIII.

Next year, when Transport for London reopens the East London line, we will be able to travel through the Thames Tunnel, the world's oldest tunnel under a navigable river, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his father.

What is more, this was a multicultural city long before it became fashionable for policy-makers to talk about "community cohesion" or "diversity". Disraeli lived the dream, rising from Jewish immigrant roots to become one of 19th-century England's finest statesmen.

Nor was he unique: Roman centurions, Sussex maidservants, Flemish weavers, Scottish noblemen, Lancastrian farmhands, Chinese sailors and Welsh lawyers all made their home in this few square miles by the Thames.

We're holding the Story of London because, as a city, we rarely celebrate this history in a way that brings us together. Often, the closest we get to remembering London's past is through specific ethnic or cultural events relating to one community, like Black History Month or the more recently established Gay History Month.

Under Ken Livingstone, the emphasis often seemed to be on highlighting the separate cultures of minority communities.

This approach certainly has its place in showing London's diversity but it tends to focus attention on one community at a time rather than on our shared interests. Many of us move in and out of different communities. Young people especially hate to be labelled. More than any previous generation, they are open to new cultural influences.

So how should we celebrate what it means to be a Londoner today? Although events like Black History Month are popular and organisations including City Hall will keep on celebrating it, we should engage new audiences. When Claudia Jones helped launch the Notting Hill Carnival 40 years ago, she was making not just "black history", but London's history, of interest to everyone. Equally, why shouldn't young black kids enjoy learning about Henry VIII and the intrigues of the Tudor court?

The Story of London will be fresh and different because it gives every Londoner a chance to learn about their city and the people who made it. I don't care if your family have been Londoners for generations or arrived last year: you will love events like the massive Tudor flotilla down the Thames or the Swinging Sixties day on Carnaby Street, as well as the hundreds of walking tours, film screenings, lectures and exhibitions. You won't just be learning about London's remarkable past but affirming your faith in its brilliant future too.

Munira Mirza is the Mayor's director for cultural policy.