Creative UK announce plans for The Big Creative UK Summit 2025

Creative UK – the national network for the Cultural and Creative Industries – is thrilled to announce its plans for The Big Creative UK Summit 2025 series.

In an exciting new format designed to celebrate the success of the regional Create Growth Programme (CGP), Creative UK will host four regional summits in cities across England, culminating in a national summit in London, exploring investment in – and for – the creative sector. A keynote address will be delivered at the national event by ITV News’ Political Editor, Robert Peston.

Originally launched in 2022 by the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in partnership with Innovate UK, CGP is designed to support creative businesses to explore and secure commercial investment opportunities in 12 English regions.

Of the 12 regions in total participating in CGP, Creative UK delivers business support in six: the North East, the South East, Devon, Cornwall, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire

This year’s regional summits will celebrate the extraordinary achievements of businesses in these areas over the last two years, with showcases, pitches and networking at the following events:

• 30 January 2025, The Bond, Birmingham: The Big Creative UK Summit: Investment in the West Midlands
• 6 February 2025, Great Victoria Hotel, Bradford: The Big Creative UK Summit: Investment in West Yorkshire
• 6-7 February 2025, University of Plymouth and Arts University, Plymouth: The Big Creative UK Summit: Investment in Cornwall and Devon
• 11 February 2025, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead:The Big Creative UK Summit: Investment in the North East

Creative UK’s flagship national Summit, taking place on 4 March 2025 at cultural place-making destination, Kings Place, London, will be a consolidation and celebration of the extraordinary outputs from these events, as well as the wider impact of the CGP.

Investors, creative businesses, policy makers and creative leaders are invited to The Big Creative UK Summit: Investment for Growth, which aims to showcase and amplify the superpower of the creative sector.

The event promises to be a must-attend moment to connect with key stakeholders, network with industry leaders, and get inspired by the businesses shaping our creative future.

Attendees can explore opportunities for investment and growth, and hear more about commercial success and creative innovation right across the economy, driven by areas such as film, TV, music, fashion and Createch.

The programme will centre on key issues such as growing and scaling, successful investment models and driving forward inclusive growth for the UK, whilst showcasing a range of businesses from across the country.

The National Summit will also celebrate the work of Creative Enterprise: a bespoke set of initiatives for ambitious screen businesses to access connections, training and networks to achieve business growth.

More programme details will be announced in coming weeks.

Commenting on the upcoming events, Caroline Norbury OBE, Chief Executive of Creative UK, said: “This Summit marks Creative UK’s fifth annual flagship event, and I’m excited that this edition will be a celebration of the meaningful work we deliver in regions right across England.

“Creative UK is committed to doing more than just talking about the transformative power of investment in the Creative Industries, helping over 700 businesses a year with their growth plans. The Create Growth Programmes is an example of how tailored business support can be transformative, powering inclusive growth right across the nation. This Summit is all sharing success stories, setting out what good looks like – and exploring how we can keep building and growing the creative economy.”

Emma Cooper, Knowledge Transfer Manager at Innovate UK said: “We’re excited for creative entrepreneurs from all the regions in the Create Growth Programme to join the Summit for stakeholders and investors to really get to understand the breadth and depth of opportunities being created across the country.”

Programme details and tickets for the national summit are available here.