Creative and Media
Manchester is recognised as one of Europe’s largest creative, digital and technology clusters and is home to a fast-growing £5 billion digital ecosystem.
Home to Europe’s largest purpose-built digital hub, MediaCityUK, and with a heritage of broadcast and media production, marketing and advertising as well as specialist skills in service design, animation, gaming, augmented and virtual realities; Manchester is a place where creativity and technology are jointly driving the next wave of innovation in the creative and media industries.
Manchester’s thriving creative, digital and technology community of more than 10,000 businesses including the BBC, Brown Bag Films, Mediacom and Dentsu Aegis.
The ecosystem comprises companies at all stages, from start-ups and SMEs to global brands and homegrown unicorns that IPO above $1 billion; all of which converge and collaborate in the city’s creative, digital and media hubs.
Manchester is a city region rich in specialist talent and skills that creative and media businesses thrive off. The existing 86,000-strong industry workforce is supplemented by a sustainable flow of graduates from the city region’s five universities, where almost 25,000 students are enrolled in creative, digital and technology courses, as well as industry-led apprenticeships and training programmes; providing businesses with access to a wealth of specialist skills.
Kate Temperley Head of Inward Investment – Creative, Digital & Tech
Manchester is home to one of Europe’s largest creative, digital and tech clusters and has been leading the way in animation for more than 40 years.
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Festivalgoers 'joyful' at celebration of weekend
Thousands of people have been celebrating the creation of the weekend at a "heartwarming" festival that was "full of joy" , organisers have said. Salford's We Invented The…
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Salford chosen to host annual conference for R&D and innovation in the creative industries
BEYOND Conference has announced its 7th annual conference, Creative Cities, will be hosted at Salford’s MediaCity on November from Monday 25 to Wednesday 27 November 2024. BEYOND is the…
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Manchester has been named the ‘creative capital’ of the UK
New research by Adobe Express has named Manchester the ‘creative capital’ of the UK, or the UK’s most creative city. By analysing a variety of factors including the number of jobs…
Beyond The Music
Beyond The Music is a global music conference and festival taking place in Manchester, the beating heart of the UK’s cultural enterprise and a city historically known for social change. The festival will take place across venues and skylines in and around the city. Beyond The Music, is founded by producer, presenter, promoter and social enterprise founder, Oli Wilson, who aims to explore, define, and tackle the issues which the music industry faces. Building upon the foundations laid by his Father, Tony Wilson - a broadcaster, journalist and creator of Factory Records and Hacienda nightclub, to shape the future of the music industry and turn the challenges it faces into opportunities. The conference and festival is a place to gather artists, entrepreneurs, creatives and music industry professionals over the course of three days, with the funders, businesses and organisations, in order to maximise impact and take solutions to scale. As well as putting the spotlight on new music talent as well as world class artists. Festival artists 024Kas | 32 Tens | Adjustments | Aleighcia Scott | Ambiere | Arka | Baby Said | Better Joy | Blossom Caldarone | Britizen Kane | Bronagh | Cam Mannix | Chunky | Claire Welles | Conor & The GreensKeepers | Crysometimes | D3LTA | David Arlo | Death by Denim | DeeD0t | Ditz | Divinitas | DR DR | George Lawson | Half Happy | HANN | Heavy Salad | Ivey | J Chambers | JAXN | Jords | Junkyard Tornado | Just Banco | Karen Dió | Katie & The Bad Sign | Lazy Day | Lei Hope | Levi Love | Little Strange | Lotusbliss | Lucy Deakin | Lucy McWilliams | Marii Ella | Martial Arts | Mellt | Metrodome | MilkMaiden | MINAS | Modema | MOULD | Nyah Grace | OneDa | Ownlane Kay | Pizza Crunch | Plasticine | Private Joy | Queen Cult | Rosebud | SAINT | Shader | Shelf Lives | Slate | Slimzz | Spielmann | The Empty Page | The Mercians | The Outcharms | The Redroom | Third Kulture | Troopz | Vulva Voce | WRKHOUSE Venues Ramona | Soup | Band On The Wall | Castle Hotel | Gullivers | Aatma | Peer Hat | Night & Day | Disorder | Aviva Studios | Matt & Phreds | Off The Square
Key Sectors
Manchester's breadth and depth of expertise enables cross-industry opportunities for collaboration and a world-class offer for the international investor.
Advanced Manufacturing
Manchester is at the heart of the UK’s largest manufacturing and advanced engineering…
Creative And Media
Manchester is recognised as one of Europe’s largest creative, digital and technology…
Digital and Technology
As well as being home to a fast-growing £5 billion digital ecosystem, Manchester is…
Financial, Professional And Business Services
Manchester is home to the largest regional financial, professional and business…
Net zero
Manchester offers access to world-leading research facilities, state-of-the-art…
Life Science and Healthcare
Home to world-leading research and development assets as well as the largest clinical…
#1 of 15 Tech Cities
(exl. London) – CBRE Tech City Report 2022
#2 large city for connectivity
fDi European Cities of the Future 2019/20
UK’s leading city for attracting FDI outside London
EY's 2023 UK Attractiveness Survey
UK’s most entrepreneurial city
Business Cloud report 2021
#3 Best City in the World
Time Out 2021
UK’s most liveable city
The Economist’s Global Liveability Index 2022