UK City of Culture 2013

The UK Government has designated Derry as the UK City of Culture for the inaugural year of 2013: you can see more about our exciting plans here, or watch the bid video - entitled 'Voices' - below.

The City Council will be Lead Partner throughout the process, and the legacy of achieving the status is expected to be significant. A group of internationally recognised forecasters, Oxford Economics, have assessed the potential economic impact of this programme both in immediate terms and in terms of the potential legacy that this will leave the City. Using a modelling system that analysed the impact on the economy of those cities previously awarded the European City of Culture some potential key benefits to the City have been highlighted as follows:

• 900 additional jobs created in culture and tourism
• Construction of five new hotels creating an additional 2,160 jobs in 2012 within the city
• An 8% annual growth in tourism
• Gross value added between 2010 and 2013 of £41m

The Round the World Clipper Yacht Race which the City has secured for 2012-13 is a major achievement. In addition to reinforcing the City’s maritime heritage, the Race will provide the City with a unique marketing opportunity enabling it to tell its new story to a wider global audience. View more here.