Creative Industries & Visitor Economy
Supporting the region’s cultural, creative and visitor sectors.
Supporting the region’s cultural, creative and visitor sectors.
Tees Valley is on a mission to lead the UK’s creative economy by becoming an engine room of production – a place where global stories, ideas and content are made and exported across the globe.
We are attracting investment, building the infrastructure, and creating the climate to capture the full benefits of the growth coming into our towns.
We are no longer a hidden gem, we’re a creative force on the rise – and we’re just getting started.
Artists, promoters and venues are being supported like never before thanks to a new multimillion-pound programme to develop a thriving and sustainable local music scene.
Sonic Futures, led by North East music industry specialists Generator, is nurturing talent, strengthening venues, and turning the area into a hotbed of music creativity .
Alongside this, Tees Valley Artist of the Year is supporting emerging musicians – alongside other creatives – at critical points of their careers to develop.
Tees Valley is rapidly establishing itself as a rising hub for the film and TV industry, with key developments shaping its growing reputation.
Central to this evolution is Hartlepool’s Northern Film and TV Studios, which has attracted major TV and film projects. These studios will be at the heart of the under-development Production Village, further expanding the town’s creative industries and education cluster.
North East Screen is the screen agency covering the region. Its production fund supports world-class HETV and award-winning content.
The region’s beautiful and varied landscape makes the perfect backdrop, with historical, coastal, scenic landscapes and industrial aplenty.
Teesside has become an exciting epicentre for the digital and gaming industry, with a growing reputation for creativity, innovation and talent. Middlesbrough is home to the fastest growing digital sector outside London, with gaming playing a huge factor in its success through the likes of Double Eleven and Behaviour Interactive.
The sector is supported by a strong infrastructure of universities, creative hubs, and industry networks. The region’s collaborative spirit, alongside its talented workforce, makes it an attractive destination for both established gaming studios and emerging developers.
Teesside University is a driver of world-leading digital R&D, offering courses including Games Art, Design, Development and Programming, alongside related fields such as animation. As such, it hosts the annual Animex festival, a globally significant event drawing some of the games and animation industries’ brightest lights and future stars to share their knowledge with the next generation.
Thanks to the region’s strengths in both creative industries and digital technologies, Tees Valley is perfectly placed to lead the emerging Createch sector. This will link creatives to cutting-edge technology such as AI, virtual and augmented reality and other digital innovations to work together. This partnership will unlock new ways of engaging audiences, accelerating business growth, allowing the sectors to become more efficient, productive, competitive and imaginative.
Hartlepool is fast becoming the focus of screen production in the region. The Northern Film and TV Studios – the only large-scale facility of its kind in the North East – has already hosted major productions including Netflix’s Jackdaw, the award-winning Smoggie Queens, and fan-favourite Vera. With state-of-the-art soundstages, green screen facilities, and production services, the studios are a magnet for world-class film and TV.
A new Production Village is under way in the town, providing vital pre and post-production support with an aim to create more than 130 new jobs, bring 10 buildings back into use and create 2,750sq m of new screen industries floorspace.
Middlesbrough’s Boho Zone, the heart of the digital sector, is home to major internationally renowned gaming, VR and AR firms. This includes companies such as Double Eleven, whose work includes titles like Harry Potter, Minecraft, Red Dead Redemption and Fallout.
Global gaming studio Behaviour Interactive – known for Dead By Daylight, Worms and Mortal Kombat titles – is also based in the Boho Zone, sitting alongside immersive digital and animation firm Animmersion, whose DeepFrame mixed reality display headlined the Great Exhibition of the North.
These successful firms are just the tip of the iceberg in what the Boho zone has to offer, with these companies fuelling a creative ecosystem where talent, technology, and entrepreneurship converge.
Tees Valley has been allocated as an Investment Zone with a focus on the Digital and Creative Industries. With £160million to invest over a ten-year period, it is set to supercharge the sectors, attract cutting-edge industries, create thousands of jobs and secure up to £175million in further investment.
Designed to drive economic growth, the Investment Zone also offers incentives for ambitious businesses to base themselves in a forward-thinking, dynamic environment.
Tees Valley has been awarded Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) status by VisitEngland, a national recognition that puts our region firmly on the map. This designation gives Tees Valley a stronger voice in shaping the UK’s visitor economy, opening doors to new partnerships, funding opportunities and national support.
Guided by a dedicated board of industry leaders and powered by the Visit Tees Valley brand, the LVEP brings together government, tourism organisations, and businesses like never before. For investors, this means a region primed for growth, with a coordinated strategy to drive visitor numbers, support businesses, and maximise the return on investment.
From international conferences to specialist exhibitions and board-level retreats, the region offers a compelling mix of venues, spaces and expertise that align perfectly with the business tourism landscape.
Investors and organisers can choose from world-class hotels such as the five-star Rockcliffe Hall and Wynyard Hall, or unique cultural venues such as Middlesbrough Town Hall, Hopetown Railway Museum, the National Museum of the Royal Navy and the Globe Theatre.
The offer goes far beyond great spaces. We provide hands-on support to make events a success, from bespoke delegate web pages to tailored accommodation packages, thanks to strong relationships with local hotels.
Tees Valley is already proving its credentials, having welcomed the UKCMA Conference in 2024 and 2025, with impressed organisers returning for a third time. For businesses and investors, this thriving market presents a growing opportunity to tap into a sector with clear strategic backing and momentum.
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