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Mayor Richard Parker with Jon Eastwood from National Lottery Community Fund, Lisa Dodd-Mayne from Sport England, Andrew Stokes from VisitEngland, Liz Johnson from Arts Council England, Claudia Kenyatta and Louise Brennan from Historic England
West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker signed a major creative industries deal with several organisations and unions at RLCS Birmingham recently.
According to a press release, ‘it’s part of his blueprint to grow the economy, to deliver the his manifesto pledge to harness the region’s cultural and creative strengths, including its young and diverse workforce, to win new funding for cultural and heritage sites, bring more film and TV productions to the West Midlands and secure new jobs, fairer pay, and long-term career opportunities for local people’.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed on the opening day of the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) Birmingham Major with five national arts, heritage and cultural organisations, on top of another partnership deal with five of the biggest creative industries trade unions.
The creative unions MOU deal was signed with Trade Union Congress (TUC), Equity, Bectu, Musicians’ Union and Writers’ Guild, and the other MOU was signed with the arm’s length bodies of the Department for Culture Media and Sport: Arts Council England, Historic England, the National Lottery Community Fund, Sport England and VisitEngland.
🚀 The West Midlands’ cultural and creative sector is taking off!
— West Midlands Combined Authority (@WestMids_CA) April 1, 2025
✍️ We're excited to announce partnerships with national cultural bodies and creative unions, both of which will bring fresh investment, fairer jobs and more opportunities across film, TV, heritage and esports. pic.twitter.com/JNn7jXguDR
The government is also backing the Mayor’s plan by choosing the West Midlands as one of its ‘priority regions’ for the creative industries with the promise of a share of £60m. A national pilot that’s helping to bring millions more leisure and business visitors to the region is also being funded by government for another year.
The Mayor already has the support of leading figures including Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight.
The Mayor said: “The international success of the Peaky Blinders shows what can happen when you back the West Midlands’ creative spirit. It has brought in more visitors, showcased our rich heritage on the global stage, and even given us our first major TV and film studio.
“We must seize this moment. That’s why I’m working closely with some of the industry’s most influential players to champion our world-class creative talent and protect our cultural legacy.”
Richard Parker, West Midlands Mayor
“With fresh investment, and by backing our creative unions, we can create exciting jobs for local people and help to revitalise our communities. That’s my plan for the West Midlands – to be the beating heart of the UK’s creative economy.”
Arts, heritage and culture is a big part of the West Midlands economy – supporting around 50,000 jobs, generating £1.1bn and 28 million visits a year to the region.
The economic value has been boosted recently by the filming locally of TV dramas This Town and Phoenix Rise, as well as the BBC’s wider investment in Digbeth with popular TV shows Masterchef and Silent Witness now being filmed there.
The sector will be bolstered by staging the first World Set Jet Summit later this year and recently announced plans for a national musical theatre centre at the Hippodrome Theatre in Birmingham.
Industry joins forces for RLCS Birmingham Major, West Midlands Unwrapped and Game On Birmingham
The event took place thanks to funding from the WMCA’s Major Events Fund. Solihull Council worked in partnership with Blast, the British Esports Federation, NEC Group, West Midlands Growth Company and the University of Warwick for the Major.
The event saw around 15,000 spectators watch the world’s top 16 Rocket League teams compete in the RLCS season opener, with Karmine Corp crowned eventual winners of the RLCS Birmingham Major.
The West Midlands Mayor also met some of the 150 local people who were getting work experience and training opportunities at the RLCS event. These included students on esports courses at Solihull College and University Centre and at the University of Warwick, and people who are currently unemployed, boosting their ambitions of a career in the esports industry.
“Esports is one of the fastest growing areas of the creative economy and the West Midlands is already responsible for one quarter of the UK’s output in the sector,” a press release stated.
A ‘West Midlands Unwrapped’ event was also held on Friday 28 March at BP Pulse Live (The NEC, Birmingham campus), bringing stakeholders together to ‘discuss the economic benefits and opportunities offered by the flourishing esports industry, and how partners could work together in the future’.
The summit, held as part of the ‘Game on Birmingham’ event series, across 26 to 30 March, featuring the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) 2025 Major Birmingham and the inaugural British Esports Cup, also took stock of education, careers and skills development, and heard from local students about their esports experiences.
Good luck to everyone competing at this weekend's @RLEsports Birmingham Major.
— Richard Parker (@RichParkerLab) March 30, 2025
I'm proud the West Midlands continues to host elite sporting events year after year. pic.twitter.com/ZRpOkUB9sH
Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council and Lead Member for Business and the Economy, opened the event.
Chester King, President British Esports Federation, said: “Game on Birmingham was a resounding success, bringing together key senior stakeholders and game-changers who share our vision for the future growth of esports in the West Midlands and across the UK.
“Alongside the excitement of our inaugural British Esports Cup and the RLCS Major, these crucial conversations have laid the groundwork for collaborative initiatives that will deliver significant economic and social benefits to the region in the years to come. Together, we are poised to deliver long-term economic and social impact for Solihull and the West Midlands, leveraging the power of esports to create new opportunities and elevate the region on the global stage.”
RLCS Birmingham was first announced last October.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
