Business leaders in Greater Birmingham welcomed today’s announcement that the city is among the leading contenders to host Channel 4.
Seven cities and regions have been shortlisted to bid for the broadcasting giant’s second National HQ and/or a creative hub.
Birmingham will be competing against Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool and Leeds. They will also be considered for the creative hubs. The West Midlands has been selected as a candidate for the headquarters or a creative hub, so Coventry will be included in the process.
Six smaller cities have also been shortlisted to battle to be the home of two new creative hubs. They are Belfast, Brighton, Newcastle-Gateshead, Nottingham, Sheffield and Stoke-on-Trent.
The winners will be announced on October 1.
Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “It’s good that we have passed this first hurdle, although the strength of the region’s offering means that it should no longer be a surprise.
“The Chamber, our members and the whole business community is very excited by the opportunity and we all look forward to playing our part in the next stage of the process that we hope will ultimately see C4 HQ here in the region.”
