Annual festival will move to more ‘affordable’ host city from 2027

Greater Manchester will become the new home of the annual TV Festival from 2027 after winning a competitive tender process.  

Previously known as the Edinburgh TV Festival, the Scottish city has hosted the annual gathering of TV creatives for 50 years and will be the home of this year’s event in August. However, last year the festival’s board of directors launched a competitive bidding process as part of a UK-wide strategic review into the event’s long-term future.  

The review examined how the festival could grow amid increasing challenges around accessibility, affordability and sustainability across the television industry. 

Greater Manchester’s bid was praised for its commitments around affordability, infrastructure, industry partnership and long-term growth potential.  

Plans include holding the TV Festival in locations around the newly developed St. John’s creative and cultural district.  

“Greater Manchester presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates,” said Campbell Glennie, chief executive officer of the TV Festival and the TV Foundation.  

“This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes.”  

Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, and deputy mayor for economy business and inclusive growth in Greater Manchester, added: “we aim to make our region home to the strongest screen industry cluster outside London by 2028 – an ambition backed by our just-launched £10.5m Screen Production Fund to support film and TV made in Greater Manchester, using local facilities and expertise. 

“As new home now also to the prestigious TV Festival, we’ll be working closely with partners to ensure we deliver not just an exceptional annual Festival – with our own uniquely Manchester twist – but an event that supports new collaborations and partnerships locally, nationally, and internationally, that have the growth, sustainability, and diversity of the screen industry at their heart.” 

The TV Festival has been held in Edinburgh for five decades and has established itself as one of the most influential gatherings in the UK TV calendar. 

The festival team paid tribute to the city, with chair of the festival board Fatima Salaria saying: “This was never a decision about wanting to leave Edinburgh, or about diminishing the extraordinary role Scotland has played in shaping the identity of this Festival for 50 years. Edinburgh gives the Festival a powerful origin story, and we respect that deeply. 

“But this decision had to balance legacy with future opportunity. The Festival now needs the right conditions, support and momentum for its next chapter; where it could have the strongest chance to grow and serve the widest part of the industry. For the board, that place was Greater Manchester.” 

In March, The Knowledge’s sister title Broadcast revealed the three cities vying for the festival were Greater Manchester, its current host Edinburgh and Newcastle.  

The festival also thanked Newcastle for its bid, which Glennie described as having “enormous passion, clarity and imagination.”