Rebuilding Europe:
The cultural and creative economy before and after the COVID-19 crisis

Discover the

immense size

of Europe's

creative economy

And its vast

untapped potential

for a post-COVID recovery

Europe's cultural and creative industries

€643b

4.4%

8.4x

31%

in turnover

of EU GDP

as many jobs as the telecommunications industry

losses in 2020

What are the cultural and creative industries (CCIs)?

Advertising
Architecture
Audiovisual

Books

Music

Newspapers & magazines

Performing arts
Radio
Video games
Visual arts

Downloads

Executive summary translations

Press conference live stream

Presentation of the study

GESAC member contributors

1/6

About the study

Europe's creative economy has been decimated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Venues remain closed, productions postponed and advertising revenues have plummeted.

We have all, individually, suffered the effects of cultural and social scarcity.

But 2019 was a different story. Cultural and creative industries (CCIs) represented some of Europe's biggest employers, some of its most diverse and fast-growing sectors, and a major contributor to European GDP. The balance of trade in culture posted a net surplus of €8.6 billion in 2019.

In this follow up to their hugely influential 2014 study, EY digs down into the numbers behind the continued rise of European CCIs, how they came to be an economic heavyweight, and how they just might hold to key to a strong European recovery.