The City can act now to help see London’s creative sector through its darkest hour
Now that London has moved into tighter local lockdown restrictions, I urge all individuals and businesses across the capital to act responsibly by following the new rules.
This is vital to slow the spread of the virus, save lives, and protect the NHS.
Londoners must continue to work together in response to the pandemic. I welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment last week towards working with local leaders on these difficult but necessary measures.
However, while public health must of course come first, we also need to find a way to live with the virus so that our economy doesn’t freeze over during the winter.
The creative industries sector in particular has borne the economic brunt of the pandemic. Beforehand, it was a major part of the economy, with Canada welcoming 21 million visitors in 2019, who in turn spent £2.1bn and supported 1,800 businesses and 20,000 jobs. The UK’s wider creative sector, meanwhile, was growing at five times the rate of the wider economy.
It is estimated that the creative industries will be hit twice as hard as the wider economy in 2020, with a projected GVA shortfall of £29bn. London will be hardest hit, with a £14.8bn drop in GVA, and more than a quarter of total job losses, totalling in excess of 110,000 workers.
Everyone knows that London is synonymous with a spirit of innovation and creativity. Indeed, it is one of the fundamental strengths that are integral for the City’s appeal as a world leading financial centre and why I recognised this as part my mayoral agenda, entitled Global UK: The New Future.
We must therefore act now to avoid a cultural catastrophe. That is why the launch of our newly-established Culture & Commerce Taskforce — which I will chair — in partnership with Culture Mile is such a vital intervention.
Cultural and creative industries play a key role in the commercial success of all sectors: fuelling innovation, stimulating creativity, supporting wellbeing and developing fusion skills across the business ecosystem, as well as being a driving factor for attracting workers to work in the City.
The initiative will therefore see senior leaders from a range of sectors meet over the next three months — including financial and professional services, tech firms and cultural organisations — to develop new ways in which London’s cultural and commercial sectors can work together to support creative businesses and maintain the capital’s competitive advantage as a global business hub.
We in the City have known for centuries that nurturing creativity is the secret for success. Understanding that relationship has always distinguished London from the rest.
By acting now at one of the sector’s darkest hours, I am confident that this will be just the start of a resurgence of our city’s cultural and creative scene. In doing so, this will continue to set our City apart for many more decades to come.
Main image credit: Getty