Along with Paris, Copenhagen and Eindhoven Edinburgh has been named top Cultural and Creative City in its population group by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) .
Mentioning the Edinburgh International Festival, the Fringe Festival, our rich literary tradition and the UNESCO City of Literature status as some of the reasons why it achieves this overall status, the JRC explained that the capital ranks best in cities within the 250,000 – 500,000 residents range.
But along with the other places mentioned it does not rate top overall in all categories. The report points out that each has good points but does ‘not necessarily excel on all the underlying dimensions’.
So Edinburgh is 5th in Cultural Vibrancy, 8th in Creative Economy and 3rd on Enabling Environment. The city is noted for its sights and landmarks, museums, concerts and shows, jobs in new enterprises in other creative sectors and ranks first on Average appearances in university rankings and third on Graduates in ICT.
The report specifically notes the Strategy for Jobs 2012-17 announced by the Council Leader accompanied by the then Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon in September 2012. The council stated then that they would create 20,000 new jobs in the capital in the next five years using mechanisms such as the Edinburgh Guarantee. As at 2016 the objectives were not on target as only 16,172 jobs had been created at that stage which was behind schedule.
It seems that the strategy is still being used as you can see from yesterday’s tweet from the council leader Adam McVey
Fantastic morning discussing the new economic strategy for the north east of the city with cross-party colleagues. pic.twitter.com/3KxzITAql6
— Cllr Adam McVey (@adamrmcvey) October 4, 2017
(One of the slightly odd claims in this report is that Edinburgh is named as a city which is not a capital, but that is true in this context since the country being examined by the JRC is the UK and not Scotland per se.)
Commenting on the European Commission’s JRC publication Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop, said: “Edinburgh is recognised internationally as a vibrant hub for culture and creativity, which is why I am pleased that it has been named as the top cultural and creative city in Europe.
“Ideas and innovation have always been key to Edinburgh’s identity and international outlook. From its world-famous museums and vibrant creative industries to the year-round festival engagement, the city offers a unique combination of cultural  programmes, venues, historic landmarks, world class collections and universities.
“Cities all across the country are actively contributing to Scotland’s reputation as a place where cultural and creative collaborations thrive, as illustrated by the recent successes of Dundee and Paisley, respectively competing to become European Capital of Culture 2023 and UK City of Culture 2021.
“We remain committed to further supporting cultural collaborations and growth across the country, promoting Edinburgh and the all of Scotland as a world-class visitor destination on the international stage.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
