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Home > Key Sectors > Creative Industries

Creative Industries

Creative Industries, including activities such as film, TV, new media, printing and publishing, are becoming increasingly important within the Cardiff, Welsh and UK economies. Cardiff is the key driver of the creative Economy in Wales, with over 6,750 workers (3.5% of the city’s workforce) employed in this sector in 2005. The city accounts for around one-third of all Welsh creative jobs and creative employment and has increased substantially, by 53.7% between 1991 and 2005.

Cardiff’s creative sector is performing well in relation to other UK core cities. In a report which looked at the Competitive position of the city’s Creative Industries, Cardiff was ranked 9th out of 20 UK cities – above Newcastle, Nottingham, Liverpool and Belfast – in terms of the size of contribution made by the creative sector within the local economy. The robustness of the city’s creative sector was further demonstrated at the 2003 Boho Britain Conference, when Cardiff was ranked 9th out of the 40 largest UK cities in terms of creative potential.

The sector is expected to achieve significant expansion over the next 5-10 years – with Cardiff well positioned to benefit from this growth, especially given that the city is home to the second largest TV production sector outside London.

BBC Wales’ plans to build a new TV production centre at the Roath basin site in the heart of Cardiff Bay will be a significant boost. The centre will be home to award-winning dramas such as Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Casualty, will also re-locate from Bristol, with projections that it could add up to £25 million to the local Economy. The drama centre plan is part of the BBC's commitment to double television network production from Wales by 2016.

Reflecting the Welsh Assembly Government’s approach to the sector, this media hub in Cardiff Bay will forge even closer links between companies in the sector and also have close ties to the centres of excellence in higher and further education, including the University of Glamorgan’s Department of Creative Industries based in the state-of-the-art Cardiff campus - ‘ATRiuM’ and UWIC’s School of Art and Design.