Why is Belfast Stories of benefit?
Good for you
It’s not a museum. It’s a different way of connecting people to each other and to music, film, art, writing and more – a whole new creative energy.
A sound investment
Attempting to quantify the benefits of any publicly funded cultural or social building is never easy and everyone has an opinion of what constitutes a good or a bad investment. A project as ambitious as Belfast Stories takes years to realise and in terms of its physical make-up is bound to undergo changes of direction along the way. We believe Belfast Stories is an excellent investment of the money made available to us. As well as a commitment to the gathering and sharing of stories, it is founded on three core ideas that will bring both social and economic benefits to the city.
Benefits in numbers
- £100m investment in world-class attraction.
- Estimated £15m GVA (Gross Value Added).
- 700,000 visitors per year anticipated.
- Potential to create 1200 jobs including construction.
- Ambitions to become a net-zero exemplar for the city.
1. Better together
The people of Belfast will benefit from having a beautiful new public space to enjoy and explore, where they will recognise themselves, their heritage and their sense of community. Belfast Stories will bring people together.
2. Welcoming all
Belfast’s growing tourism industry will benefit from a new visitor attraction that helps people orientate themselves and better understand the city they have come to see and experience. Belfast Stories will enhance the city’s reputation as a visitor destination.
3. Inspiring creativity
Belfast’s creative communities will benefit from having a creative hub in which to meet, learn and collaborate enabling people of all ages to become involved in one of the fastest developing sectors of the economy. Belfast Stories will help grow the creative industries and generate more opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds.
How these ideas eventually come to be expressed as a coherent set of physical and emotional experiences is a work in progress. The next section will give you some sense of our current concept as a work in progress.
