C&W must capitalise on UK City of Culture and Commonwealth Games

Coventry and Warwickshire must now capitalise on the bounce resulting from UK City of Culture 2021 and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games to benefit its economy, a new report has highlighted.

The current Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Growth Hub SmartRegion report focuses on Building the Momentum of the Commonwealth Games to emphasise how it has, and will, impact on the region’s economy for the future.

The report contains data from the Growth Hub’s business engagements as well as from CWLEP, Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council and other organisations.

According to the West Midlands Regional Economic Development Institute (WM-REDI), the 2022 Commonwealth Games could lead to a direct increase in GVA of between £167m and £251m, and directly increase output between £346m and £518m whilst creating between 4,600 to 7,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

Another impressive figure from Birmingham’s Central Business District revealed there were over five million visitors to the city during the Commonwealth Games fortnight.

There was also a big increase in the use of public transport with more than 650,000 spectator journeys via shuttle buses, 64,910 parking spaces booked through the park-and-ride service that served about 180,000 visitors, and a doubling in the number of bike and e-bike rentals (West Midlands Cycle Hire) with 28,000 hires covering 49,000 miles covered during the Games.

The Games’ Business and Tourism Programme (BATP) which was developed by a range of regional and national partners including the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, West Midlands Combined Authority, West Midlands Growth Company, the Department for International Trade, VisitBritain, and local authorities, will run until the end of 2023.

By 2027, it is expected the BATP programme will have created £7m of additional exports including £5m in the West Midlands, generated £712m of domestic and overseas investment, including £377m in the West Midlands, regions and the wider UK will benefit from £12m additional spending from visitors based on an additional 39,000 visitors, and the creation of 1,000 new jobs, including 600 based in West Midlands.

A key part of the BATP during the Games was the UK House event which provided high-level sector business events, covering future mobility, tourism & hospitality, digital & creative, advanced manufacturing, low carbon, and data driven healthcare.

Craig Humphrey, Managing Director of the CWLEP Growth Hub, said the UK House event had showcased the UK’s capability, innovation, and opportunities to build greater business connectivity between UK enterprises and international buyers and investors – which could benefit the regional economy in the long-term.

He said: “Major events such as Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 have demonstrated the huge economic benefits that can be delivered for our region and has demonstrably raised the profile of the West Midlands.

“This will raise the appetite to bid for, secure, and host future major events, such as Eurovision 2023 and the World Athletics Championships.

“Coventry and Warwickshire, and the wider West Midlands, needs to seize the opportunities from both Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 to sustain growth in the creative, tourism, and hospitality sectors, but also more generally across all sectors locally.

“The challenge is how we can fully capitalise on these now that the region’s profile has been increased and improved following our major events, to promote and deliver future long-term and sustainable investment, innovation, and growth.

“It is really important that we maintain the investment in sufficient support for businesses in the leisure and hospitality sectors to enable them to continue realising their growth and transformation potential, and also capitalise on the further economic opportunities that should arise as we maintain the momentum from the success of these events.”