Leading figures from Brighton and Hove gathered on the House of Commons Terrace today to celebrate the success of the city’s creative and digital sector – in the run up to the deadline for the city’s bid for ultra fast broadband.

Representatives from the industry, Brighton and Hove City Council and local media organisations were joined by the Government’s Culture Minister, Ed Vaizey MP, to showcase the sector at a reception hosted by Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas.

The city’s creative digital sector is one of the biggest and most successful in the UK. There are an estimated 23,600 jobs in the knowledge economy, representing around 18% of the local economy.

Today’s reception is the next step in the ‘Let Brighton Bid’ campaign, which was successful in securing the right for Brighton and Hove to bid for funding for ultra fast broadband under a government competition.

The deadline for the bid is 17 September, and the city will find out if it has been selected when the results are announced in the Chancellor’s autumn statement – expected in November.

Speaking after the event, Caroline said:

“Brighton and Hove’s pioneering creative and digital businesses are a huge asset to the city and I’m delighted to have had the opportunity today to give the sector the recognition it deserves, with the support of culture minister Ed Vaizey.

“Organisations such as Cogapp, iCrossing, Epic, Relentless Software and Cubeworks have been at the forefront of putting our creative digital sector on the map.

“As well as showcasing the industry’s incredible achievements, the Reception was also chance to celebrate the success of our ‘Let Brighton Bid’ campaign, which attracted cross party support from local MPs and was championed by the Argus.

“As the bidding deadline approaches, we now eagerly await the results of the competition in the autumn – and I’m hopeful we’ll see Brighton and Hove secure the funding needed to become super-connected with ultra fast broadband.”

Phil Jones, managing director of Wired Sussex, who spoke at the event, said:

“Brighton and Hove’s creative industries and digital sector are a real national success story. Made up of a thousand companies and hundreds of freelancers, they are generating thousands of well paid, knowledge- based and sustainable jobs and are outward looking, internationally trading companies.

“This month Brighton Digital festival with its 100+ conferences, events, exhibitions and workshops is giving people just a taste of what is happening down there in the city by the sea – attracting visitors from everywhere from Silicon Valley to Shanghai.

“The city’s ability to attract and retain talent is changing it from one reliant on low wage and seasonal employment to a national leader in entrepreneurship and innovation.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors

- The reception was sponsored by Wired Sussex, which works with over 2000 companies and freelancers to support the development of a successful regional digital cluster, and the Coast 2 Capital Local Economic Partnership.

- The event also showcased the digital and creative sectors in Cambridge and Sunderland.