Image Credit: OlsbergSPI
A new study by creative industries consultancy OlsbergSPI estimates that connections to film and television could generate £66.97 million in visitor spending across the region. The BBC drama Peaky Blinders, which ran from 2013 to 2022, has become one of the most recognisable television productions associated with Birmingham. Birmingham has also hosted world premieres for successive seasons, while the 2018 Peaky Blinders Festival brought together hundreds of actors from the production and featured a performance by Liam Gallagher.
Because of a film or television production may spend more during their visit, creating additional value for the attraction and the surrounding tourism economy, people travelling specifically.
The series has played an important role in raising the city’s international profile, according to BirminghamWorld. The popularity of Peaky Blinders has helped introduce Birmingham and the wider West Midlands to audiences around the world, turning filming locations into attractions for fans of the drama. The research suggests that screen productions can influence travel decisions, encourage additional visits and bring financial benefits to local attractions, accommodation providers and other tourism businesses. Created by Birmingham-born writer Steven Knight and starring Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby, the series follows a fictional criminal gang operating in the city during the period of industrial change following the First World War. the programme has attracted viewers from across the world, particularly in the United States Although the story is rooted in Birmingham. Its popularity has also brought attention to locations across the West Midlands, including the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, where some of the show’s most recognisable scenes were filmed. The programme’s influence has extended beyond television. A dance production based on the series was created by Rambert, adding another cultural attraction connected to the story. The potential economic contribution of film and television tourism has now been examined through a pilot study conducted by OlsbergSPI in partnership with the Black Country Living Museum. The findings suggest that screen tourism does not necessarily depend on attracting enormous numbers of additional visitors.