London's Borough Market debunks 'new filming rules' and says 'influencers are welcome'
London’s historic Borough Market has spoken out about new ‘filming rules’ that were reported to prevent influencers from creating content at the historic site; however, this isn’t the case.
Yesterday, news broke that Borough Market was planning a ‘new crackdown on influencer filming’ after a string of disruptive social media shoots and negative reviews.
And while it is true that the market is digging its heels in on the filming policy, it’s actually not that new. Despite reports, influencers are not banned from Borough Market.
The market requires anyone filming for professional or influencer purposes to complete an online form before arrival, detailing the time, crew size and purpose of the shoot. This is to prevent disruptive shoots taking place during peak times.
Here’s what it actually means for you (and yes, you can still film your chocolate-covered strawberries for Instagram!)
What are the Borough Market filming rules?
A Borough Market spokesperson says: “We welcome all food lovers to Borough Market – from Londoners looking for dinner inspiration to tourists from the UK and beyond who want to experience our unique atmosphere and pick up something delicious from our expert traders.
“We have a long history of working closely with the wider food community including chefs, established food writers and food influencers, and often feature their content on our website and digital channels. We value the role that food reviewers play in showcasing Borough Market and its traders. Our filming policy is designed to ensure that activity doesn’t cause disruption to stallholders or visitors and our security team is trained to ask for the relevant permission from anyone filming in the market.
“Our number one priority is to ensure that visitors are comfortable, and at times we do need to alleviate the congestion which can happen around particularly popular sites within our market. This occasionally means we ask food reviewers to stop filming if they are causing congestion or haven't got the relevant permission. We're in the process of reviewing our policy at the moment, and our intention is always to keep Borough Market open and welcoming to everyone who wants to celebrate its food and support the 100+ small businesses who trade on our historic site.”
It was initially reported that weekend filming has been entirely prohibited, and any creator caught without the required permission letter will be asked to stop filming and leave immediately. However, Borough Market has since confirmed that they “haven’t introduced a ban on influencers or filming at all. We do ask that commercial filming avoid our busiest times, which include weekends, and this has been the case for a long time.”
The news follows the exclusion of popular food-review creator Gerry del Guercio, one-half of the “Bite Twice” account, who was asked to leave while filming a bakery review inside the market. He had described a £9 apple-and-cinnamon crumble as “slightly better than what I got at primary school”.
Market managers say the move is designed to protect stallholders and visitors from disruptions caused by filming setups, congestion, and unvetted content.