Update: 8 December 2011 - dot LONDON partnership RFP published

London & Partners is now inviting organisations to submit responses to the dot LONDON partnership request for proposal (RFP) which is now live on www.competefor.com, with an application window of 8 December 2011 to 12 noon GMT on 5 January 2012. This is an open and competitive RPF process and London & Partners welcomes proposals from capable organisation based both within and outside the UK/EU.

Guidance on registering your organisation's account and business profile on CompeteFor can be obtained from the CompeteFor Helpdesk - 0845 2177804 (UK callers), +44 845 2177804 (callers outside UK), 18001 0845 2177804 (callers with impaired hearing). Once registration is completed, the dot LONDON partnership RFP can be accessed on CompeteFor.

Should you require any further support, please contact tld@londonandpartners.com

London & Partners will also make announcements via Twitter, so please follow us @mylondondomain

Press release: 22 September 2011 - Capital announces interest in dot London top level domain application

London has today announced its interest in applying for the 10 year ICANN licence to operate a new gTLD (top level web domain) for London. London will be joining a number of other cities who have expressed their interest in applying for their relevant city gTLDs including New York, Paris, Sydney, Rome and Berlin.

London & Partners, the official promotional agency for the capital, working with the Mayor of London, is leading this process. During this initial analysis phase, London & Partners will:

The Mayor of London is keen to see a greater use of the digital world to deliver more effective public services for the city, and sees this as a potential opportunity to build on London’s position as a global centre for digital innovation.

In addition to enhancing the promotion of the capital, London & Partners is investigating what opportunities the ownership of the gTLD licence could bring in terms of harnessing commercial revenue streams and new job creation, whilst ensuring value for money.

Commenting on the application, Gordon Innes, CEO, London & Partners said, “London has always been seen as a city that leads on digital innovation and our interest in applying for dot London demonstrates our commitment to maintaining this position. We believe that owning the dot London gTLD will not only generate increased opportunities for the promotion of the capital, but will achieve benefits for businesses and organisations across the capital.”

Kulveer Ranger, Digital Advisor to the Mayor commented, "Ownership of the dot London domain could offer a tremendous opportunity to reinforce London’s position as a global centre for digital innovation, generate revenue and bring about new employment opportunities. There is great potential for engaging with Londoners and the Mayor is interested to understand better what people think this opportunity would mean to them, as well as the marketing opportunities and the business benefit for the capital as a whole.""

ICANN will receive applications between 12 January and 12 April 2012 and this will be followed by a review process taking anything from 9 – 20 months.

Notes to Editors

The Mayor of London is determined to enhance London’s position as a leading world city for digital innovation and is committed to supporting areas of commercial growth and job creation.

The Mayor is also keen to see all his agencies and functional bodies maximise their engagement with and use of the online world to deliver more efficient public services whilst ensuring value for money.

General enquiries

tld@londonandpartners.com

Media Enquiries

Sunita Sharma
London & Partners – press office - 020 7234 5710 ssharma@londonandpartners.com - 0207 234 5844