NORTH EAST OF ENGLAND'S FESTIVAL AND EVENT STRATEGY SUMMARY

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1 NORTH EAST OF ENGLAN'S FESTIVAL AN EVENT STTEGY SUMMARY

2 VISION The North East becomes known nationally and internationally as a region which welcomes, initiates and develops world class cultural events. istinctive, indigenous events thrive, grow, and reach wider audiences. Artists, cultural and heritage organisations are supported to create and promote events that positively shape the way the North East is viewed from within and beyond the region. Events contribute to economic growth and employment and our capacity to attract and stage world class events is increased. 02

3 FESTIVAL AN EVENT STTEGY SUMMARY CONTEXT As part of overarching North East Culture Partnership Case for Culture (C4C), a wide range of stakeholders and interested communities have explored how best to maximise culture s contribution to the economic and social life of the North East of England. The Case for Culture (C4C) sets out five aspirations; Participation and Reach Children and Young People Talent and Progression Economic Value istinctive region and quality of life Festival and events provide the means by which a number of these aspirations can be pursued, and these aspirations should influence the way we approach the design and delivery of our events. Events have a proven ability to reach diverse communities, they can provide vehicles to nurture and expose talent, they can target specific audiences and move quickly to address current issues. Our strength in festivals and events is a central part of the region s distinctiveness and one of the primary means by which we showcase and celebrate those characteristics of the region that create a strong sense of place and an enviable quality of life. The Festival and Event Strategy is a strategy for the north east cultural, heritage, leisure, tourism, business, academic partners, and wider communities. Anyone involved in events can be guided by it and take action to align their efforts with the objectives that address the challenges they face. 03

4 Collectively these events already drive millions of visits and sustain thousands of jobs, but if our audiences and event organisers viewed them collectively we could make the whole far greater than the sum of the parts. And, if the local audiences that underpin most of our events could be tempted to frequent a few others, if our artists, producers, suppliers and tourism businesses could share skills, build capacity, package their visitor offer and foster a shared sense of ownership, our events would grow and thrive. 1) Understand and value the festivals and events that we have The region is relatively small but its range of venues and rural and urban landscapes provide distinctive and characterful settings for an impressive diversity of events. Air shows, maritime celebrations, music festivals, community parades, light installations, street theatre performances, food festivals, literature festivals, dance showcases, mass runs, cycle rides, rowing races, cutting edge technology and ancient traditions. Attempts to list them invoke the Forth Bridge comparison; you can t finish it before something new is added. OBJECTIVES 04

5 What needs to be done? Recognise and seek to exploit the landscape, heritage, and identity of the region to add authenticity and distinctiveness to our events in a competitive UK and international marketplace. Value and support our artists and creative practitioners as the source of innovation and renewal to keep our events relevant and dynamic. Encourage communities of the North East to view the region s events as theirs. FESTIVAL AN EVENT STTEGY SUMMARY 05

6 2) Strengthen and improve the home-grown and attract and create new events To avoid unnecessary event clashes and exploit potential synergies, it makes sense to share information about what is being planned. The NECP currently supports a North East Festivals website to help organisers and customers see what s on offer, where and when. However, there is limited coordination of marketing or packaging of visitor opportunities across the region. Recognising that there is no longer a unifying regional campaign and no agency acting for the whole region in relation to national or international place promotion, the challenge is to collaborate and pool resources where possible. 06 Similarly, to attract the large scale footloose events that can bring profile and drive large numbers of visitors in the short term, a collaborative approach is required to present a coherent picture of what the region can offer. There are challenges of transport and access within the region, restricting growth in attendance. There is a need to plan for the longer term, setting our ambition in a timeframe that enables us to achieve greater impact. There is also a potential for the use of themes and anniversaries as a unifier and a framework for planning the region s approach to events.

7 FESTIVAL AN EVENT STTEGY SUMMARY Package our event offer systematically. Map demand and support public transport improvement. Promote regional multi-year event calendar. Collaborate to attract 3-5 major footloose international events over the next 15 years. Promote themes to encourage joint planning and promotion and inspire audiences to recognise the value of a dispersed set of related events. What needs to be done? 07

8 2017 Exchange of views; how the North East shaped the attitudes of the nation. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King s honorary degree from Newcastle University Run it, Kick it, Row it, Throw it; obsessive competitors passionate fans. Coinciding with efforts to bring the World Transplant Games to the region, and linked to the 130th anniversary of Elswick Harriers who have produced 3 Olympians On the march; celebrating, demonstrating, being heard. Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the urham Miners Gala, 85th anniversary of the Jarrow Crusade, and linked to Sunderland s UK Capital of Culture bid. SUGGESTE 10 YEAR THEMATIC CALENAR The following suggested themes are offered as a means of triggering wider discussion, some may take root others be ignored, but recent history suggests that the North East can get behind a year of concept and achieve real added value. NECP is keen to broker that process Treasures Lost & Found; unearthing and returning the objects that tell a tale that is local and global. Coinciding with efforts to bring artefacts out of national collections and back to the region, or linked to efforts to buy a major piece that belongs to the North East The North East Inventory; laboratory and workshop of the world. Coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the birth of passenger rail and linked to the Tees Valley s UK Capital of Culture bid Let there be light; our lives transformed by Walker and Swan. Coinciding with the 200th anniversary of John Walker s invention of the friction match and the 148th anniversary of Joseph Swan s first public demonstration of a working light bulb.

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10 3) Address capacity, resource and skills gaps There are well established estination Marketing Organisations covering parts of the region, but capacity is not uniform and it is not aligned with a single region. The North East Tourism Alliance provides a portal for the tourism offer of Northumberland, urham, Sunderland, NewcastleGateshead, North and South Tyneside, but does not include the Tees Valley. The two emerging Combined Authorities are likely to drive coordination within their two respective areas. Connections and complementarity between the two should reflect the pursuit of visitors from beyond the North East as well as movements between conurbations within the region. 10 There are skill shortages and employment opportunities in the events sector, in technical and creative roles. There are opportunities to enhance the related supplier businesses to keep more of the region s spend on events in our local economy. There are also examples of good practice which could be shared, particularly in the systems designed to ensure events are safely run. What needs to be done? Regional approaches to destination promotion should be encouraged. Research is required on anticipated future event workforce needs and Further Education and training provision. Local Authority Independent Safety Advisory Groups should be supported to share best practice.

11 FESTIVAL AN EVENT STTEGY SUMMARY 4) Maximise the economic contribution that cultural festivals and events make to the region Most of the actions set out in this strategy will have the effect of growing our events and increasing their audiences. This growth would increase the economic contribution they make. Efforts to support the growth from within the region will maximise the sustainability of that economic impact. Recommendations relating to promotion and destination marketing will support efforts to attract and retain talent and investment in every sector, contributing to wider economic growth. It is important that the agencies defining strategies for economic growth in the region appreciate the direct and indirect value of festival and events. What needs to be done? Collect and collate data that allows us to fully understand economic impact across the region, justifying the resources and effort to sustain and grow our events. 11

12 Find out more The Festival and Event Strategy contains a great deal of information and deals with issues, some of which are technical. This summary is a simplification of the full document. For more details of the issues and potential solutions read the full report at To see the full version of Case for Culture visit For more information on the North East Culture Partnership visit Enquiries: culture@northeastcouncils.gov.uk