AFTER two successful years, the Creative Cities Convention (CCC) will scale up its ambitions in year three by looking at the global growth of production outside London when it convenes in Glasgow on 23 – 24 April 2020.
As a creative media event designed specifically for content producers working across the country, the convention visits a different UK city each year. Following a fiercely competitive ‘Big City Challenge’ bid process, the City of Glasgow will welcome delegates to its Royal Concert Hall.
With one of the biggest production sectors outside London, Glasgow is a popular choice. For the third year running, top broadcaster and Newsnight journalist Kirsty Wark will host, with household names Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer opening the conference. “I’m delighted that Phil and I will be speaking at the Creative Cities Convention in Glasgow next April,” Allsopp said. “The conference is rapidly becoming the go to event for anyone producing content outside of London. We are proud to add our voices to the many key players who will be attending next year.”
The global theme will resonate with content producers working outside London who are entering a ‘golden age’ of big commissions moving outside the M25. “The devolution of production outside London is one of the great success stories of the UK creative industries,” said Ruth Pitt, director of the Creative Cities Convention. “Today, it no longer matters where you’re based. There was once a time when people assumed production in the nations and regions was small scale compared to London, but now the game has changed thanks to the fragmentation of viewing habits, the large-scale arrival of online subscription services and a growing recognition that audiences outside London demand and deserve better representation. We’ll be reflecting that shift in 2020 and asking how we can help producers go global at a time of great political upheaval for our nation.”
Under the ‘Going Global’ banner, the conference will explore this booming growth and promote the significance of scaling up, particularly in unsettled times. And CCC 2020 will once again provide a platform for debating other big issues affecting the entire industry, such as digital innovation, gender inequality and social mobility.
Screen Scotland will be supporting the Creative Cities Convention,Isabel Davis Executive Director at Screen Scotland said: “It is an incredibly exciting time for Glasgow to be hosting the Creative Cities Convention, bringing international creative decision makers together with the UK sector and demonstrating why Scotland is a such a great place to make TV and for creative companies to base themselves. Scotland’s talent is producing high-quality factual and scripted formats with international appeal; the Convention will enable them to forge new partnerships and support further growth.”
Britain’s big city indies and broadcasters are generating a raft of big global hits, but how do they do it – and what can new kids on the block learn about growing international business? With a range of leading media figures lining up, the stage is almost set for 36 hours of lively discussion and insight around content production across the UK.
“The Creative Cities Convention is the only dedicated conference and meeting place for producers working right across the UK,” said John McVay, Chief Executive at Pact, a key sponsor of the event. “It uniquely understands the challenges and opportunities that content creators and distributors in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are dealing with everyday. These are great times to be working in the nations and regions and the 2020 theme of ‘going global’ proves that the sector outside London is as ambitious and creative as the best in the world.”
