Leake Street

This article is about the street in London. For the street in Fremantle, Australia, see Leake Street, Fremantle.

Leake Street (also known as the Banksy Tunnel) is a road tunnel in Lambeth, London where graffiti is legal and promoted despite the fact that it is against UK law on public property. The street is about 300 metres long, runs off York Road and under the platforms and tracks of Waterloo station.

Leake Street tunnel. 2019

The walls are decorated with graffiti, initially created during the Cans Festival organised by Banksy on 3–5 May 2008. The festival ran again on the August Bank Holiday weekend 2008.

While the Eurostar terminal was at Waterloo, the road was open for through vehicular traffic. On 14 November 2008 ownership of the road passed from Eurostar to Network Rail and through traffic was restricted to pedestrians.

Prior to the 1920s the street was known as York Street.

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  Graffiti from the 2008 Cans Festival included Banksy's Injured Buddha (left) and Sten Lex's Saint (right)
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  Leake Street tunnel. 2023
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  Leake Street tunnel. 2019
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  Leake Street tunnel. 2018
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  Leake Street tunnel. 2016

See also

• Graffiti in the United Kingdom

External links

Media related to Leake Street, London at Wikimedia Commons

• Cans Festival 08 - flickr group for the event
• Tunnel becomes Banksy art exhibit, BBC News
• Leake Street Gets a Gritting, Londonist.com
• Leake Street Arches, Leake Street Arches website
• WeAreWaterloo | It's Your Waterloo. Be part of it. – Miracle on Leake Street, alternative Christmas event 2022