According to the latest Social Impact of the Arts in Liverpool report, published by the city council, 29,840 cultural activities took place in the city in 2015/16. Tony McDonough reports

Cultural organisations in Liverpool benefit the city’s economy by an estimated £27m every year, a new report reveals.

According to the latest Social Impact of the Arts in Liverpool report, published by the city council, 29,840 cultural activities took place in the city in 2015/16.

It adds that 66% of this activity was targeted at special groups such as young people, homeless and veterans.

The study looked at at 36 cultural organisations in the city which are funded through the city council’s Culture Liverpool Investment Programme (CLIP). Findings include:

• Arts organisations generated £27m into the city from a wide variety of local, national and international sources. This includes attracting millions of visitors and inward investment.
• At least 4.6m people attended funded events and festivals (broken down as 2.9m for events and 1.7m for festivals).
• More than 258,000 people took part in cultural activities.
• The funding enabled the organisations to raise an additional £15m from public and private sources.

Organisations reported their activities achieved a huge array of social impacts and benefits – for example improving the lives of those experiencing homelessness, worklessness, long-term health issues or poor mental health.

Young people with experience of the criminal justice system showed that those taking part in cultural events became more engaged in community, school and home life.

Cultural activities mentioned in the report included Transitions – a programme by Collective Encounters, which used theatre to enable 55 adults with experience of homelessness, mental health challenges and addictions to achieve nationally recognised qualifications; and The Comedy Trust’s Stand up to Stigma gave people accessing mental health services the opportunity to hone their comedy skills.

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said: “This report acts as a reminder of the hugely important role culture and the arts plays in the life of this city, both for residents and visitors.

“We know about the economic boost generated by the sector, but what’s more important is the positive, priceless impact on the day-to-day life of residents and their communities shown in this report.”

The full report can be found by clicking here.