With a rich creative heritage, the Liverpool City Region is entering a new era of ambition, fuelled by significant government investment, a rapidly scaling creative workforce and a renewed determination to accelerate its rise as a national and global creative powerhouse.
Home to more than 6,500 creative businesses and a 51,000-strong workforce, the region’s creative economy now generates over £4.5bn in GVA.
As that momentum continues to build across the region’s strongest sub-sectors, including film production, games development and music innovation, Prolific North is partnering with business support service Growth Platform for a special focus week on the city region.
We will be shining a spotlight on the ideas, ambitions and realities shaping the region’s creative economy, exploring what must come next for the Liverpool City Region to unlock its full potential.
Renowned as the ‘most filmed’ location in the UK outside London, the region’s creative energy is unmistakable. It is home to major indies such as Lime Pictures and LA Productions, a £220m games ecosystem, creative agencies working with global brands and a music scene that extends far beyond its Beatles heritage.
This year, the Liverpool City Region was also officially recognised as a Creative Cluster by UK Research and Innovation, securing £6.75m to become the UK’s leading hub for music innovation, research and development through Music Futures.
At the same time, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport named the region a priority growth area, which unlocks a further £25m through the Creative Places Growth Fund to be invested between 2026 and 2029.
These milestones arrive as the city region unveils its Creative Industries Board Strategy and Action Plan.
“The Action Plan for the Creative Industries is ambitious, and we need to work closely with local and national partners to ensure they deliver the impact our businesses need. Led by the Creative Industries Board, these proposals have already been shared with academic and local authority partners. Now, through Prolific North, we’ve taken the next step — bringing them to the wider business community across the region to make sure they reflect the realities of growing a creative enterprise,” said Helen Cross, Creative Industries Lead at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
“Whether IP-led or agency-based, every creative business is navigating the opportunities and challenges that AI presents. On one hand, it boosts productivity and lowers barriers to entry; on the other, it raises questions about the protection of original creative content. We wanted to hear directly from a diverse range of businesses about how we can support them going forward, who else can join us to ensure this sector thrives, and where best to invest government funds for maximum impact.”
What to expect this week
Throughout the week, Prolific North will unpack the strategy, the investment, and some of the voices steering Liverpool’s creative future.
We’ll draw on insights from an exclusive roundtable held on 11 November in partnership with Growth Platform, which brought together industry leaders from across the region’s creative sub-sectors, including Hurricane Films, Tate Liverpool, Poke Marketing and Uniform, to explore what is needed to accelerate the region’s creative growth.
From what is working well to where the gaps remain, and how Liverpool can seize its moment on the national and international stage, the discussion offered plenty to consider.
This focus week aims to highlight the business support and partnerships shaping the next chapter of the city region’s creative success, and to examine how its creative sub-sectors can work together to deliver the new Action Plan, kicking off tomorrow with two days of in-depth roundtable coverage and finishing with a deep dive into the region’s creative ecosystem and key takeaways.
Read more – Liverpool City Region Creative Focus Week
This article is part of Prolific North’s Liverpool City Region Focus Week, produced in partnership with Growth Platform, exploring the strategy, investment and voices shaping the region’s creative economy — from film and music to tech, talent and collaboration.
Read the other stories in this series:
📌 1. Liverpool’s creative economy accelerates with record investment and bold new strategy
An overview of the region’s creative growth, workforce scale, investment and new strategy guiding its next chapter.
👉 https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/feature/liverpools-creative-economy-accelerates-with-record-investment-and-bold-new-strategy/
📌 2. Liverpool City Region’s creative industries unite behind a shared ambition for growth
Insights from a roundtable on collaboration, shared priorities and where businesses see opportunity and challenge.
👉 https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/feature/liverpool-city-regions-creative-industries-unite-behind-a-shared-ambition-for-growth/
📌 3. Talent, tech and deeper Northern ties set to shape the future of Liverpool’s creative economy
How talent development, tech adoption and wider Northern collaboration could strengthen the region’s creative profile.
👉 https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/feature/talent-tech-and-deeper-northern-ties-set-to-shape-the-future-of-liverpools-creative-economy/
📌 4. Liverpool’s creative ecosystem — thriving, bold and built on collaboration
A deep dive into the ecosystem’s strengths and partnerships powering creative growth across sectors.
👉 https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/feature/liverpools-creative-ecosystem-thriving-bold-and-built-on-collaboration/
📌 5. From ambition to action — new strategy marks a turning point for Liverpool’s creative economy
A look at how strategy is translating into action, with insights on next steps and sector priorities.
👉 https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/feature/from-ambition-to-action-new-strategy-marks-a-turning-point-for-liverpools-creative-economy/
