Tourism contributes more than £400 million to the South Tyneside economy annually.
But our tourism economy is so much more than the 6.4 million visitors we welcome every year; it’s about ensuring that we provide diverse and inclusive activities for all.
A decade ago, we pursued an ambitious programme of investment and regeneration that acted as a catalyst for private sector investment. We have invested significantly, yet sympathetically, in our stunning foreshore to offer an enhanced visitor experience. This is now the perfect backdrop for the ‘This is South Tyneside Festival’, an exciting and free, three-month-long programme of live music, entertainment and family friendly events, and the cornerstone of our annual events programme.
As a borough with areas of significant poverty, we’re passionate about making arts and culture accessible to all communities. This free festival is an annual highlight for residents.
Thousands of people are directly employed by tourism, and our investment in music and festival events is a vital part of our work to create jobs.
In autumn 2021, South Tyneside was named one of 54 Arts Council ‘England Priority Places’, to receive additional support from the Arts Council to develop new opportunities for investment.
Our Cultural Partnership later launched ‘Making Waves’, South Tyneside’s cultural strategy for 2022 to 2027. This shared vision builds on the area’s unique cultural offer, drawing on its creative talent and strengths, with a focus on developing them to help reach more people.
This was further enhanced earlier this year with a Place Partnership grant, match-funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, to boost cultural participation in the most disadvantaged parts of South Tyneside.
Our borough already has so much to offer, with its heritage, stunning coastline and vibrant events programme, and we wanted to celebrate and develop this.
This year, our summer parade was delivered in partnership with The Cultural Spring and Out North East, a new inclusive LGBTQ+ charity, as is one of our four Sunday concerts – expanding our Pride offer South of Tyne.
More local performers will support headliners at this summer’s Sunday concerts, giving them a platform to showcase their talents; and the Amphitheatre Live Music season is partly delivered in partnership with North East-based support agency Generator, which works with musicians, artists and those working in the creative industries.
We are also expanding our partnership arrangements with the Great North Run, on 8 September. This year, 500 of our Year 6 pupils will experience elements of the event, with the iconic finish line being used as an integral part of a bespoke local fun run – ‘Fit for the Finish’.
Fundamentally, we believe that culture plays a key role in enhancing and enriching people’s lives, while boosting their health and wellbeing. To maximise these benefits, we have used our status as an Arts Council England National Portfolio library provider to good effect.
We have developed new unique performance spaces, such as our roof terrace ‘Story Garden’, and grown the scope of our activity programme, with the introduction of cycle cinema and pop-up theatre events. The results have been compelling, with hard-to-reach audiences now engaging in high-quality cultural experiences.
We are now starting to see the fruits of our labour. Rising visitor numbers, along with enhanced satisfaction and participation levels, are proof that our approach is working towards the creation of a sustainable economy fit for the future.
- This is South Tyneside Festival runs from July to September.