Culture gives Liverpool a £32m boost

CULTURAL events involving Liverpool’s major artistic institutions contribute around £32m to the city’s economy each year.

That’s according to Iona Horsburgh executive director of arts centre FACT who was speaking at a Professional Liverpool event last week with Michael Eakin, chief executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
 
The pair spoke about the seven cultural organisations in the city that make up the Liverpool Arts Regeneration Consortium (LARC).

They include the Bluecoat, FACT, Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Tate Liverpool and the Unity Theatre.
 
Ms Horsburgh said: “It is estimated that LARC activities annually support a net additional GVA of £32m to the Liverpool city region.”

She added: “Liverpool is genuinely extraordinary in its cultural heritage and current infrastructure. The city has real creative talent and we are really lucky in the assets we have compared to the rest of the UK and Europe.
 
“The city has been built on arts and culture – going right back to the mid-19th Century. This has come from a combination of creative talent and drive, backed by private individuals and businesses in the city and by public bodies.”

Mr Eakin said: “Collectively, we earn most of our money through tickets and other income streams – but income through public funding has been a core component for the last 70 years; it has been a critical element which has helped to ensure the health of our theatres, galleries, orchestras, arts centres and others. The government is keen to see greater corporate and individual support of the arts but how realistic is this?”

In 2012, across the seven organisations, there were 1,278 performances, exhibitions and events, 449,000 tickets sold to the value of £7.3m and 4.3 million visitors.