Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

 

1.1       The purpose of this report is to update Members on the status of the European Capital of Culture 2023 designation and to outline a planned programme of activity to support the development of an alternative legacy initiative.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       It is recommended that Members:

 

-       Note the contents of this report and agree that the budget set aside for the development of stage 2 of European Capital of Culture competition is now utilised for the development of a cultural legacy programme, which can be delivered with or without the designation of European Capital of Culture.

-       Agree to receive a further report in due course that sets out a detailed legacy programme and funding strategy for approval in line with the funding strategy for European Capital of Culture as part of the legacy programme

-       Agree for officers to develop a partnership project with Galway 2020, as part of the legacy programme to be brought back to Committee for approval.

 

3.0       Main report

 

3.1       Background

 

            Members will be aware that Belfast City Council in partnership with Derry City and Strabane District Council developed and submitted in October 2017 a stage one application for the 2023 designation of European Capital of Culture. In November 2017, in advance of the formal presentation of the bid to the jury panel, all bidding cities were notified by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) of the European Commission’s decision that the UK would no longer to be eligible to host the competition.

 

3.2       Since November 2017, officers have been in regular discussions with DCMS and the other bidding cities to seek a satisfactory resolution to the situation. From the outset, the position of all bidding cities was that the preferred outcome of these discussions should be the reinstatement and completion of the competition. However, in March 2018 the other cities together with DCMS, reached the conclusion that further participation in the existing UK competition in its current form was no longer viable given the timeframe and the position maintained by the European Commission.

 

3.3       A delegation from Belfast City Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council travelled to Brussels to meet with the European Commission. Meetings were also held with representatives from the Committee for Regions and the UK Permanent Representation to the EU. These meetings further confirmed that pursuing the 2023 UK competition for European Capital of Culture was no longer an option. The delegation also sought clarity over current status and eligibility criteria for European funding programmes for cultural activity. Officers have agreed to follow up with relevant authorities to seek written clarification to these queries. They are also pursuing all potential avenues for Belfast City Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council to be awarded the title at any stage going forward.

 

3.4       The decision to bid for European Capital of Culture recognised the significant economic and social benefits derived from flagship cultural programmes including:

 

-       generating a direct economic return

-       raising the city’s international profile

-       significantly boosting tourism

-       supporting investment and job creation

-       supporting skills development and enhancing entrepreneurship

-       improving connectivity

-       breathing new life into a city's culture sector and addressing long term capacity issues

-       enhancing European and international linkages in context of Brexit

 

3.5       While it is recognised that it will be difficult to achieve the full scale of benefits without the brand value of the European Capital of Culture title, a number of unsuccessful cities have gone on to deliver significant legacy programmes that have clearly demonstrated an economic and social return on investment. Examples include the ongoing investment of Dublin City Council in the legacy programme, Dublin Culture Connects, developed following their unsuccessful bid for the 2020 title. Leeds and Dundee have also announced large scale legacy programmes to follow through on proposals set out in their 2023 bids and to ensure that the energy, enthusiasm and investment to date is built upon.

 

3.6       Approach to developing a legacy programme

 

            The bid for European Capital of Culture responded to the opportunity for cultural transformation as well as the need to support the next phase of tourism development in the city. These challenges remain and the work undertaken in stage one of the bid process provides an ideal foundation on which to build an ambitious and strategic response. It is therefore recommended that officers continue to develop options for a legacy programme to be delivered in 2023 in line with a number of key elements of the original bid. In particular:

 

3.7      Long-term cultural strategy and capacity building

 

            A strong focus of the original bid was to address long-term sustainability issues in the cultural sector and support the cultural development of the city. Any legacy plans need to take a long-term view of investment in cultural infrastructure as well as align to the recommendations set out in the recent Events and Festivals strategy.  This was strongly supported by the cultural sector.

 

3.8       The current Cultural Framework and Tourism Strategy for the city remain in place until 2020, however, in order to have new strategies and associated funding programmes in place for 2020 research and development will take place over the coming years. This will include in depth engagement with key stakeholders and strategic partners. There is therefore an opportunity to ensure that all of these workstreams are integrated and that any legacy programme supports the wider Belfast Agenda as well as capacity building and investment in the cultural and tourism sectors.

 

3.9       Civic engagement

 

            A key strength of the stage one bid was the level of civic engagement. Over 15,000 people were engaged with directly as part of the development of the concept and programme. Plans for stage two of the bid would have built on this engagement. The development of a legacy programme would therefore continue with the engagement methodology of the original bid to:

 

-       ensure high levels of participation

-       connect people to opportunities

-       create positive changes in attitudes and perceptions

-       enhance civic engagement and participation

-       improve social inclusion

-       promote the richness and diversity of our cultural identities

 

3.10     As part of this approach creative neighbourhood projects will be rolled out across the city. The design of these pilot projects will be informed by the Belfast baseline research recently conducted by Thrive NI on behalf of Belfast City Council. This research has helped establish levels of engagement across the city and importantly identified areas where there continues to be low levels of provision or participation.

 

3.11     European dimension – to be extended to have both a European and an international focus

 

            The bid identified over 100 city-to-city European links as well as developing a series of new European partnerships. This was particularly relevant given the nature of the competition as well as the need to maintain cultural, social and economic links with the European Union after Brexit. The legacy programme will help maintain existing relationships as well as foster new partnerships. Furthermore, there is an opportunity to widen this out to have an international dimension including a focus on existing sister cities connections. The design of the programme will take into consideration cultural links as well as key economic and tourism markets.

 

3.12     Members will be aware that in March 2018 it was agreed that Belfast would develop plans to become a UNESCO City of Music. It is likely that the formal process for this will take place in 2021 with the need to demonstrate international linkages throughout the lead in years.

 

3.13     As part of the original European Capital of Culture bid, there were also plans to work with a number of cities that have held or are due to hold the European Capital of Culture title. This included a project with Galway 2020 that was to be further developed in stage 2 of the bid process. It is proposed that development work continues on this project. Music has been identified in initial proposals as the creative focus with an opportunity to develop a large-scale project bringing in Nashville as well as a number of other partners.

 

3.14     Discussions are also ongoing with DCMS and the other bidding cities involved in the 2023 UK competition with a view to assessing opportunities for collaboration.

 

3.15     Large scale year long programme of activity in 2023

 

            As well as the civic engagement outlined above, stage one of the bid also involved consultation with the cultural and creative sectors. This included:

 

-       Information sessions

-       Thematic workshops

-       Big Ideas sessions

 

3.16     These sessions engaged with over 300 people working across the arts, heritage, sport, science and the creative industries.

 

3.17     A creative reference group was established to include local representatives from both cities. These members were selected following a nomination and application process. This group also included three international programmers who have previous experience of either developing a bid or delivering a successful European Capital of Culture. 

 

3.18     At stage one a number of indicative projects were presented as part of the bid. In order to select these projects three strands of programme development were put in place. This included:

 

                                             (i)     Open Call: this was an opportunity for anyone to submit projects ideas

                                           (ii)     Commission: the identification of a number of flagship project ideas. A formal commissioning process would have taken place at subsequent stages.

                                         (iii)     Curate: the group identified specific gaps in the programme and made connections with smaller projects from the open call.

 

3.19     The open call for stage one received 125 project proposals with an initial selection made based on the criteria for the competition. It was anticipated that the cultural programme would comprise of 5 flagship projects and a programme of 30 smaller scale proposals programmed across the calendar year.

 

3.20     It is proposed that as part of the development of a cultural legacy programme a corresponding yearlong framework would be adopted. This will be tested through a similar process to that which had been set out for stage 2 of the competition. This will include:

 

-       Delivering a series of creative pilots to test the viability of projects based on submissions already received.

-       Carrying out further development on flagship projects. There is now an opportunity to align this to the Events and Festivals recommendations. Individual flagship projects across the legacy programme could form the basis for the future development of signature and major events. The cumulative impact of a yearlong programme could also be commensurate with that of a ‘mega’ classification as set out in the Events and Festivals Strategy.

-       Identifying the building blocks required in the 5-year period leading up to 2023 to ensure adequate momentum and capacity including creating opportunities to enhance existing cultural activity as well as respond to new and emerging opportunities.

-       Undertaking further engagement with the cultural and creative sector throughout each phase of development. This would commence with a workshop in May 2018.

 

3.21     Next steps

 

            It is proposed that the above areas of work will be carried out over this financial year as part of a development phase with a detailed cultural legacy programme then presented to Committee for consideration.

 

3.22     As part of this process further consideration will be given to how legacy plans could be delivered in partnership with Derry City and Strabane District Council including the appropriate governance arrangements to support the delivery of the programme.

 

3.23     A full business case, funding strategy and resource plan will also be developed. This will include further proposals for investment from the private sector as well as government departments.

 

3.24     All means open to the council to access European funding and/or a cultural title will continue to be pursued.

 

3.25     Financial & Resource Implications

 

            The budget for this development phase will be allocated from resources set aside for the stage 2 bid for European Capital of Culture.

 

3.26     Equality or Good Relations Implications

 

            As part of the legacy programme an engagement plan will be developed and will be equality screened with any gaps addressed. The final programme and associated strategies will also be equality screened.”

 

            A Member expressed concerns that there were no specific costs detailed in the report.

 

            The Chief Executive clarified to the Members that she was asking for approval to use some of the budget which had been set aside for the development of Stage 2 of the European Capital of Culture competition, in order to work with the cultural sector to develop options for a cultural legacy programme.   She explained that a funding strategy on the options would be submitted to a future meeting for the Committee’s approval.

 

A further Member suggested that engagement with the Irish Government should also take place.

 

After discussion, the Committee:

 

1.     noted the contents of the report and agreed that some of the budget which had been set aside for the development of Stage 2 of the European Capital of Culture competition now be utilised for the development of options for a cultural legacy programme, which could be delivered with or without the designation of European Capital of Culture;

2.     agreed to receive a further report in due course, setting out the detail of a proposed  legacy programme with a range of options along with a funding strategy for approval;

3.     agreed that officers develop a partnership project with Galway 2020, as part of the legacy programme to be brought back to Committee for approval; and

4.     agreed that a delegation of Belfast City Council and Derry and Strabane District Council representatives would meet with the Irish Government in relation to the European Capital of Culture bid process.