Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Nothern star

Manchester is heralding itself as the UK’s most creative city and it’s not just the BBC that’s taken note. Hazel Davis reports on why this northern metropolis is a hub for businesses with an artistic twist

Images Andrew Whitton Photography, IWMN, Len Grant

Manchester has a reputation in the north of England for banging its own drum, for bigging itself up. For those who live and work there, though, the drum-beating is entirely justified.

The heart of 19th-century free-trade liberalism, Manchester has always been a progressive city. Home to the Suffragette Movement, it’s known for embracing the new and encouraging modern ideas. This positivity and forward-thinking attitude has manifested itself commercially in its hosting of the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the revamping of the Arndale Shopping Centre after the 1996 IRA bomb, which, the city is agreed, is a million times better than before.

To its inhabitants, loving Manchester passionately is a no-brainer. Ask any of them and they will wax rhapsodic about the architecture, the music, the art scene, the industrial history. Mancunians will tell you that there is no finer building than its (Alfred Waterhouse-designed) town hall or no better music scene than the “Madchester” of the 1980s. No better bands than The Smiths and Elbow, and no better football team than Man U.

It plays host to the UK’s largest gay village and Chinese quarter outside London – plus the Hallé, the symphony orchestra that’s over 150 years old. The first modern computer was built here in 1948 and the first edition of iconic long-running BBC music show, Top of the Pops, was broadcast from here in 1964.

The media movement

Now the rest of the UK is wising up to where Manchester’s at creatively, and this reputation looks set to be solidified with the genesis of MediaCityUK, the brand-new area built on the foundations of Salford’s historic docks. MediaCityUK has been created – by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company, developers Peel and Salford City Council – to support a creative community and digital hub like existing models in Dubai and Singapore.

Phase 1 of MediaCityUK covers over 14 hectacres (roughly 18 football pitches), with the potential to develop up to 80 hectares in the future. The University of Salford is creating a new campus, accommodating around 700 students and staff. And there will be over 65,000 sq m of office space, a 218-bedroom hotel and 378 apartments (divided between two towers).

The BBC chose MediaCityUK as its new base in 2006, and in 2011 five of its departments currently based in London (plus its Manchester staff) will relocate there, creating 15,500 jobs and an estimated €1.6bn for the local economy.

Bryan Gray is Chairman of Peel Media, the company behind the city. “What we are creating on the waterfront is a city where people will live, work and visit. It’s a totally new place, with its own identity,” he says. “Manchester is already a renowned creative place and so we are designing MediaCityUK to be a centre of creativity.”

Part of the plans, Gray explains, include the most up-to-date TV studios in Europe, which, he says, will allow visitors to walk around the facilities.

The decision to have the UK’s most creative community in Manchester is a logical one, says Gray. “Both Manchester and Liverpool are cities with a great history of media and creativity, as well as a strong entrepreneurial history.”

Artistic foundations

Manchester is already home to myriad galleries and designers and a bohemian quarter full of creative people. In the former Victorian fish and poultry market, the Manchester Craft and Design Centre houses 19 studio boutiques, where artists and designers sell jewellery, furniture, photography and painting.

The city attracts more than 2m visitors each year to its museums and galleries, which include the Imperial War Museum North, The Lowry, the Museum of Science and Industry and Urbis.

Music and fashion are always the passion, but alongside this bohemian, creative vibe “real” businesses are thriving. Giants such as the Co-operative Group have been based in Manchester for years and recent NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) figures suggest that the city hosts 3% of all businesses in Britain, 7% of all advertising firms, 6% (for now) of all radio and TV companies, and 4% of architecture firms. In fields such as advertising, software, radio and television, Manchester has more creative businesses than other northern cities put together.

Chris Horkan is director of small media company OH Digital, which does concert promotions across the city and web development for national and regional companies. “We’re thriving on both fronts,” he says. “We benefit from cheap rent in an interesting, central area, with plenty of new work to be found on our doorstep.

“The area’s digital industry is growing, and even the smallest of small businesses, such as ours, can land some great clients. There’s plenty of competition – but most of it is friendly.”

Horkan says things are well set up in Manchester to encourage creativity and creative people: “Rent’s cheap, there’s funding available for pretty much any venture – and, best of all, the creative community here is pretty compact, so you’ll always find someone talented to collaborate with. There’s also a flourishing drinking culture in that community – which is always helpful…!”

He continues: “I am impressed by the sheer number of talented creative people who operate here. Many don’t even make themselves known. They just get on with making music or designing, or whatever they do, without feeling a need to broadcast it to the world.” He says this is “both a virtue and a criticism of the place”.

“Beyond the BBC,” adds Horkan, “the city continues to do well on plenty of fronts: live music is as popular as ever here, new art spaces are opening all the time, and the people of Manchester are continuing to think original thoughts.”

FR L’étoile du Nord

Manchester se targue d’être la ville la plus créative du Royaume-Uni et il n’y a pas que la BBC qui a pu le constater. Hazel Davis examine en quoi cette métropole du Nord est un hub commercial avec une touche artistique

Dans le Nord de l’Angleterre, Manchester a la réputation de faire un peu trop sa propre publicité. Mais pour ceux qui y vivent et y travaillent, ce battage médiatique est tout à fait justifié.

Aimer Manchester est une évidence pour ses habitants. Demandez à n’importe lequel d’entre eux et il ne tarira pas d’éloges sur l’architecture, la musique, la scène artistique, l’histoire industrielle. Aujourd’hui, le reste du monde comprend enfin la position de Manchester sur le plan de la créativité et cette notoriété pourrait bien se renforcer avec l’arrivée de MediaCityUK, un tout nouvel aménagement urbain érigé sur les fondations historiques des docks de Salford.

En 2011, la BBC relocalisera cinq de ses départements à MediaCityUK, créant 15 500 jobs et produisant quelque 1.6Md € en faveur de l’économie locale. Mais à part ce projet de relocalisation de la BBC, de nombreuses autres affaires sont déjà bien implantées à Manchester. Des géants comme le Co-operative Group sont basés ici depuis des années et les chiffres récents du NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) montrent que la cité abrite 3% de toutes les entreprises du Royaume-Uni, 7% de toutes les sociétés publicitaires, 6% (jusqu’à présent) de toutes les compagnies de radio et de télévision et 4% des bureaux d’architecture.

Chris Horkan dirige une petite société de média, OH Digital. Il attribue l’attrait des entreprises des secteurs créatifs pour Manchester aux loyers bon marché ainsi qu’à l’accès aisé au capital.

“À part la BBC,” ajoute Horkan, “la ville continue à bien se positionner sur de multiples fronts : les concerts sont toujours aussi populaires, de nouveaux espaces artistiques ouvrent régulièrement leurs portes et les gens de Manchester continuent à avoir des idées originales.”

NL Ster van het noorden

Manchester kondigt zichzelf aan als de meest creatieve stad van het Verenigd Koninkrijk en dit is niet alleen de BBC opgevallen. Hazel Davis brengt verslag uit over waarom deze noordelijke metropool het centrum is voor bedrijven met een artistiek tintje

Manchester heeft in het noorden van Engeland de reputatie hoog van de toren te blazen. Volgens de mensen die er wonen en werken, is dit echter volledig terecht.

De inwoners hoeven over Manchester niet lang na te denken. Vraag het eender wie en hij of zij zal lyrisch worden over de architectuur, de muziek, de kunstscène en de industriële geschiedenis. Nu begint ook de rest van de wereld aandacht te krijgen voor het creatieve niveau van Manchester en deze reputatie lijkt te worden verstevigd door het ontstaan van MediaCityUK, de splinternieuwe zone die gebouwd werd op de funderingen van de historische Salford Docks. In 2011 zal de BBC vijf van haar departementen naar MediaCityUK verhuizen, waarbij 15.500 jobs worden gecreëerd en een geschatte opbrengst van 1,6 miljard euro voor de lokale economie zal opleveren. Maar naast de verhuis van de BBC zijn er al veel bedrijven die in Manchester goede zaken doen. Reuzen zoals de Co-operative Group hebben hier al jarenlang hun thuisbasis en onlangs toonden de cijfers van NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) aan dat de stad 3% van alle handel, 7% van alle reclamebedrijven, 6% (voorlopig) van alle radio- en tv-bedrijven en 4% van alle architectenbureaus in Groot-Brittannië huisvest.

Chris Horkan is directeur van een klein mediabedrijf, OH Digital. Hij schrijft de aantrekkingskracht van Manchester voor creatieve zaken toe aan het feit dat “de huur goedkoop is en dat er fondsen voorhanden zijn voor zowat elke onderneming.”

“Naast de BBC blijft de stad het op allerlei vlakken goed doen,” volgens Horkan, “livemuziek is nog nooit zo populair geweest, er worden veel tentoonstellingsruimten geopend en de inwoners van Manchester blijven met originele ideeën op de proppen komen.”

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