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.
Joseph Beaden 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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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…
Key Sectors
Manchester's breadth and depth of expertise enables cross-industry opportunities for collaboration and a world-class offer for the international investor.
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Creative And Media
Manchester is recognised as one of Europe’s largest creative, digital and technology…
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The UK’s most ‘AI ready’ city
AI and analytics software firm SAS
#2 large city for connectivity
fDi European Cities of the Future 2019/20
University of Manchester 8th best university in Europe
TopUniversities.com
UK’s leading city for attracting FDI outside London
EY's 2023 UK Attractiveness Survey
#5 ranking emerging ecosystem out of the top 100
Global Start-up Ecosystem Index 2024
Largest regional FinTech ecosystem outside London
Whitecap Consulting
UK’s most liveable city
The Economist’s Global Liveability Index 2022