Music events contribute £250m to Manchester economy
CONCERTS and festivals in Greater Manchester contributed around £253m to the city’s economy last year.
The New Economy think tank estimates that in 2012 some 2.7 million concert and festival-goers in Greater Manchester spent £253m on tickets, refreshments and merchandise and on accommodation, bars, restaurants and travel – supporting around 1,500 jobs.
New Economy has prepared the figures for a Manchester City Council committee which is looking into the authority’s decision last year to spend £425,000 on an MTV pop concert at Manchester Cathedral at a time of swingeing budget cuts.
The council came in for heavy criticism after committing £175,000 from the town hall events budget and £250,000 from a European regeneration fund for events to attract visitors and investment to the city. It has always argued that the coverage on MTV promoted the city to a worldwide audience.
New Economy said independent analysis by global research agency Repucom estimated that three MTV programmes related to the concert reached an audience of more than 21.7 million people around the world. The combined media and economic value of staging the event and the subsequent associated broadcasts was estimated to be worth more than £12m.
It also said the event had left Manchester well-placed to bid to host MTV’s European Music Awards, “which would have a predicted economic impact in excess of £20m”.
Dr Alexander Roy, head of research for New Economy, said: “Manchester is a city famous around the world for music, hosting not only the large scale events at venues such as the Etihad Stadium and Heaton Park, but also a wide range of smaller to medium-sized events and venues that draw crowds on a regular basis, such as the Apollo, the Academy, or the Warehouse Project. Taken together with the music business that is also present in the city, the economic impact of music make a big contribution to the economy as well as raising the profile of the city.”
The MTV evaluation report will be considered by the council’s finance overview scrutiny committee on September 5.
