Cardiff hits ‘send’ on bid to host Channel4’s HQ

Cardiff is sending a clear message to Channel 4 in its bid to secure the broadcaster’s new UK headquarters telling its bosses and staff –  ‘We’re ALL 4 you.”

Channel 4 plans to expand its presence in the nations and regions by establishing a new national HQ and two creative hubs outside of London and a number of cities across the UK launched their official bids today, Friday, May 11. 

The Welsh capital’s pitch – Cardiff 4 All – highlights:

• Cardiff’s flourishing independent scene and creative sector;
• The city’s track record in media and TV production;
• Access to a talented, highly-skilled workforce with one of the youngest, most diverse city populations in the UK;
• A city centre being redesigned around a new media, creative hub and integrated transport exchange, and;
• The short journey time to London – which will reduce even further next year when mainline electrification is completed.

Just pressed 'Send' on the #Cardiff bid to host @Channel4 's National HQ! A bid filled with the energy and imagination of our amazing creative sector, and the welcome of our vibrant, diverse city. A bid that delivers #4alltheUK #ComeToCardiff #CroesoiGaerdydd pic.twitter.com/BmdeK4pBbX

— Huw Thomas (@huwthomas_Wales) May 11, 2018

Leader of Cardiff Council and Chair of the Cardiff bid, Cllr Huw Thomas, said:

“Cardiff is a city of change; fast-growing, multi-cultural, and young – the perfect home for the alternative voice of British broadcasting.

“This is a city unlike any other. We place culture, creativity and innovation squarely at the heart of the Cardiff’s development. Over the past two decades we have inventively used culture and sports to transform the city, establishing the Welsh Capital as one of the UK’s creative powerhouses. It is an approach that has seen us host the UEFA Champions League Final, become the UK’s first Music City and develop one of the largest creative sectors outside London.

“It is why creativity continues to be at the heart of Cardiff’s regeneration agenda, with the city centre being designed around the needs of the sector. Visit us and you will see how we are bringing together custom-designed properties to support the creative sector, all built around a new integrated transport hub, connecting you to talent here and across the UK.

“The new BBC Wales HQ, which sits in the centre of this development, will be opening soon and will contain the most up-to-date broadcasting technology available. As part of our bid BBC Wales would welcome the opportunity to explore with Channel 4 the feasibility of co-locating at their new centre to create a vibrant broadcast and commissioning hub in the very heart of the city.”

The Cardiff Bid is a team effort bringing together Cardiff’s creative sector with the full support of Welsh Government and the City Region.

Cllr Thomas added:

“We are not just the home to the nation’s biggest broadcasters. Cardiff also has a strong independent scene, andwith more than 70,000 university students and over a third of the city’s residents aged under 24, the creative potential of the city is vast. This is a city that is also committed to inclusive growth. Like Channel 4, we want to make opportunity available to everyone, whether it be the hard-to-reach communities of Cardiff or the wider South Wales Valleys.

“The stage is set for you, one where you can make real your vision to be even more innovative, ambitious and diverse while challenging the status quo. So our bid is more than a relocation proposal. It is an offer of a lasting partnership with a city whose creative ambitions and values match those of Channel 4. An offer to base your organisation at the heart of the largest cluster of independent production companies outside London, stretching from Swansea to Swindon.”

Adding their support to Cardiff’s bid, founder of Bad Wolf Julie Gardner, whose company creates TV programmes for the UK, US and global market, said,

“Great crew, great people and the great facilities that Cardiff has to offer. Frankly of all the places in the world – Cardiff is where to be” while ,Managing Director of production company, Boom Cymru,  Nia Thomas, added: “As proud participants in Cardiff’s long-established creative scene, we’re delighted to support the Welsh capital’s bid for one of Channel 4’s new creative hubs.  Cardiff is a city bursting with creative talent, diverse production know-how and world class facilities. Put it all together and you have the perfect place to help bring the UK’s Nations and Regions strategy to life”.

Cardiff will learn if is pitch has progressed to the next stage of the process at the end of this month. The final decision will be made in October.