A new report outlines the importance of Manchester’s cultural offering as a key driver for economic growth – and the ongoing happiness and wellbeing of the city’s residents.
A new report outlines the importance of Manchester’s cultural offering as a key driver for economic growth – and the ongoing happiness and wellbeing of the city’s residents.
The annual culture report, heard by the Council’s Economy and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee (Tues 11 February) provides feedback on the citywide ‘Always, Everywhere’ cultural strategy, an overview of the Council’s investment in cultural opportunities, and how the sector supports Manchester’s recovery following the global pandemic alongside future economic growth.
In the last year alone, the city’s cultural sector has generated an economic impact of more than £342m for Manchester, supporting at least 4,800 full-time jobs.
Read the Annual Report on Culture
Cultural Strategy – ‘Always, Everywhere’
Last year, the Council’s city-wide consultation helped guide and develop a 10-year plan to help grow culture and creativity in more places in the city, involve more people and connect more communities.
The strategy underpins the importance of culture to the city of Manchester, setting out how partners aim to widening access to culture for all and create an inspiring ‘cultural welcome’ to the city. It celebrates everyday Mancunian cultural life and looks at creating more spaces and places where culture happens for everyone, everywhere.
The ‘Always, Everywhere’ plan outlines that culture and the arts have a much more important footprint than most people might realise.
At a community and grass roots level, culture can bring people together, forging links between our residents while improving our health and wellbeing.
Culture at an international level creates a global visibility for Manchester, creating opportunities for investment that supports Manchester’s economic growth.
Over the next decade, the strategy will make culture more accessible to all, develop more cultural activities and connect these with important issues, and create more spaces and places for culture – and include more people.
Find out more about the city’s Always, Everywhere : Manchester’s Cultural Ambition
The impact of culture in Manchester
The Annual Cultural Impact Survey (more detail in the notes for editors’ section) shows that Manchester City Council invested £23.1m in libraries, arts and culture in 2023 – 24, which has helped leverage a further £159.2m from other public, private and other funding streams. This represents an economic impact for the city of more than £342m and a very good return on investment for the Council.
Supporting at least 4,802 FTE jobs – as well as 16 apprentices and 2,284 volunteers – the sector has also helped Manchester recover quickly following the global pandemic.
The city is now beginning to see city centre footfall return to pre-Covid 19 levels, now up to 93% compared to 2019/20 levels, showing a strong resilience and recovery following the restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
9million people visited cultural venues in the city last year – 2.8m to the city’s libraries – showing that culture and events are a key driver for visitors to the city. And the New York Times has listed Manchester as one of their 52 places to visit this year, mainly based on Manchester’s cultural offer.
Culture as a driver for growth
Culture has long played an important role in the city’s growth from the Bridgewater Hall and Manchester Central Convention Centre supporting the regeneration of the city’s Civic Quarter, while Z-Arts in Hulme and Rogue Artist Studios in Openshaw show the value of cultural opportunities in communities.
Aviva Studios as a centrepiece of the St John’s redevelopment area, HOME at the core of First Street, and a planned Cultural Hub as part of the transformation of Wythenshawe town centre are more recent examples of cultural investment driving globally renowned regeneration – adding to the investor confidence that has helped Manchester become one of the fastest growing places in Europe in recent years.
As a result, Manchester has continued to attract global events in the last year, including MTV European Music Awards, WOMEX, and Chanel – along with the upcoming arrival of the English National Opera to Greater Manchester.
Each adds to the city’s international reputation and ambition supporting the Our Manchester strategy aim of becoming a global city.
Cllr Garry Bridges, Leader of Manchester City Council, said:
“Culture has for many years played an integral part in the city’s history – from international artists and musicians to grassroots arts in the hearts of our communities – it’s all important and it all has a place to help our city and our people to thrive.
“Manchester is place where we celebrate our creativity, our diversity and our vibrancy. Quite simply, take away our culture and there would be no city. At the most fundamental level, the arts brings happiness to our lives, it creates wellbeing and supports good health. Culture also has the power to be a driver for social change, for justice and equality. Our 10-year strategy understands this, and we will use it to ensure our communities have a voice and make sure Manchester is a place where everyone can achieve their potential.
“Culture is also a key engine of growth. Some of the city’s biggest regeneration successes are underpinned by the value of cultural organisations being at the heart of the city’s transformation. The sector accounts for thousands of jobs and has the power to bring global attention and investment to Manchester that provides a platform for economic growth in the future.
“Big or small, culture is the beating heart of Manchester. But we want to do more. We want to celebrate culture in our communities, we want to make sure that as many people as possible can take part, and we want to change lives. This is what culture can do.”
