“If New York used to be the melting pot of international creativity, it is now Berlin-Brandenburg,” says Stefan Arndt, film producer and Chief Executive of X-Filme. The creative industries appreciate Berlin – and Berlin appreciates creative industries. “From New York, London, Paris and Warsaw to Moscow, Beijing and Tokyo – throughout the world, Berlin is considered an attractive, exciting and dynamic metropolis with a glowing future,” says Klaus Wowereit, the Governing Mayor of Berlin. “That is due not least to its most important resources: knowledge and ingenuity.” There is a very simple reason for this mutual appreciation: in addition to celebrity and glamour, ideas and events, the cultural and creative economy also attracts money to the capital. These creative industries, which in Berlin include not only film, music and literature, but also software development and telecommunications, have become a very tangible factor in the regional economy.
According to one study, some 22,600 usually small and privately owned companies in the creative industries generated a turnover of approximately 18.6 billion euros in 2005. That is over 20% of the gross domestic product of Berlin’s economy. The number of businesses obliged to collect to value-added tax rose by 19% in this sector between 2000 and 2005 – especially in the field of software development. This sector has now become one of the segments of the creative economy with the highest turnover. Whether mobile entertainment, games or Web 2.0, Berlin is playing a leading role in the development of technologies and content.
Berlin has also returned to the top of the league as a media location. In the wake of the Federal Government’s move to Berlin, countless businesses (re-)settled in the city – including Axel Springer AG, one of Europe’s largest media groups. Today, 26 news agencies report from Berlin, 18 national and international broadcasters maintain capital city bureaus, 11 daily newspapers are published in Berlin and more than 10% of Germany’s journalists and press photographers live on the banks of the river Spree. Berlin is the most popular film location in Germany. Even Hollywood has discovered the German capital. Just recently the feature film Valkyrie was shot here with Tom Cruise. Furthermore, with 40 radio stations, the region has one of the most diverse radio markets in Europe.
Since 2006 the city has officially been able to use the designation “Creative City”. UNESCO awarded Berlin the title of “City of Design” and appointed it – as the first city in Europe – to the Creative Cities Network under the framework of UNESCO’s Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity. Berlin forms one of the strongest design clusters in Europe with over 6,300 businesses in this field.
