Mayflower 400

That the Government:

Provides £14.8m funding from central government to complete delivery of:

• International projection of Britain’s brand, particularly targeting the US but extending out to other interested markets.
• An exceptional programme of cultural, heritage & digital activity that will draw people to the UK, stimulate creative industry and raise pride locally and nationally.
• An impactful business and community engagement programme to leverage place-making investments that will generate social capital and stimulate investment.

Context

Commemorating Great Britain’s seminal connection with the US, bringing nations and communities together, through an exceptional programme of heritage and modern culture that explores the most influential journey in western history.

The UK is about to embrace a major redefinition of its status on the world stage. With Brexit due to commence in March 2019 and a transition period anticipated to extend through 2020, the Mayflower 400 commemoration in 2020 is a unique opportunity to showcase Great Britain as a beacon of international democratic values and partnerships. Through the Brexit period, Mayflower 400 will:

• highlight the strength of the UK-US relationship
• demonstrate that the UK is open for visitors, business and study
• provide ‘good news’ stories and coverage of the UK position on the world stage
• drive an economic boost through creative, cultural and tourism sectors

The commemoration

2020 is the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage, one of the most influential journeys in global history and a defining moment in the shared history of Britain, the US and the Netherlands. The moment Britain seeded modern America.

There had been journeys across the Atlantic for hundreds of years, trading, slaving, fishing. But this was the start of something permanent, different. A community and a set of ideas that come to form a new nation. A nation aligned to but eventually separate from Britain. Ideas, ideals and language that keep us so linked, and which form the basis for our ongoing special relationship. A link from Magna Carta to the US constitution. That’s a moment worth commemorating. A story to tell that, in many different ways, helps us to understand the world today.

The opportunity: economic, political and social value

With the Mayflower 400 commemoration starting in November 2019, this is the moment for central government to fully elevate this exceptional national opportunity so it levers maximum economic, political and social value for the nation. £27.9m total revenue funding is required, of which £13.1m is already secured or anticipated (see below) and £14.8m is requested from central government to complete delivery of:

• International projection of Britain’s brand, particularly targeting the US but extending out to other interested markets. Recent research indicates that there is a pre-existing market of over 20m Americans who are keen to connect to their roots. Activities in Westminster will support connection and engagement at political level.
• An exceptional programme of cultural, heritage & digital activity that will draw people to the UK, stimulate creative industry and raise pride locally and nationally
• An impactful business and community engagement programme to leverage place-making investments that will generate social capital and stimulate investment

The partnership

Partnered in the US and Netherlands, Mayflower 400 combines culture, arts, heritage, visitor, community and place-making across 11 UK locations. Mayflower 400 is backed by a broad range of public, private and community sector organisations across the UK, with buy-in internationally from Massachusetts and the Netherlands. To date in the UK, Mayflower has mobilised national public-private capital investment of £74m and £9m revenue investment. The programme supports wider capital investment in leisure facilities and the public realm currently valued at over £200m. Mayflower 400 has the support of Visit Britain & Visit England, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England, the Royal Navy and other major institutions. There is already growing engagement across government departments, including DCMS, DIT and FCO.

Impact

The impact of cultural investment is well established through the success of ‘Capital of Culture’ and ‘City of Culture’ models. Hull’s year as City of Culture resulted in over 90% of residents engaging in cultural activity and contributed c£60m to the local economy in 2017 alone, while Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture in 2018 saw a 34% increase in visitor numbers and generated >£750m for the region. The Mayflower 400 programme carries the potential to extend this impact across multiple UK locations, and in doing so contributes to the goals of the national tourism strategy to increase international visitors and visits outside London.

Benefits and Outcomes

Reach

• 4 Nations – Britain, US, Netherlands and Wampanoag
• 8 British counties
• 4 British cities

Economic Impact

• Economic impact in 2020 anticipated at £147m[1]
• Economic impact between 2019 – 2024 anticipated at £615m increase in direct spend and £768m increase in business turnover[2]

Other Outcomes

• Global media positive coverage of the Britain-US relationship
• Diplomatic opportunities as the international beacon of democratic values
• Over 400 events in 52 weeks across Britain
• Signature events attracting over 1 million participants
•  >45 million visits
• 70% of residents in Mayflower locations engaging in a cultural or heritage activity
• Boosted digital art & culture capability in 11 UK cities and towns
• 5,000 volunteers, 400 businesses, delivering 140,000 hours of volunteering
• Over 400 schools and youth groups engaged

Programme Funding Requirement

International Engagement driving Britain’s profile	1 Drive awareness of the anniversary with US potential visitors 2. Extended PR and marketing activity 3. Research and monitoring 4. Trade events 5. Social media	1. Bespoke US content targeting the identified market of Americans who have expressed a strong interest in visiting for Mayflower heritage and culture but who currently have limited knowledge of the opportunity 2. Media content and familiarisation trips for international buyers, and capacity to influence at national and local levels in key markets 3. Marketing research and tracking to ensure that resources are effectively targeted 4. Attendance at trade events to secure industry buy-in and further raise the profile of locations across the partnership 5. The development of digital content, including digital trails, educational material, social media & web management	Total £2m
Westminster programme	1. International keynote lectures 2. Exchange of UK & US politicians 3. Thanksgiving dinner	1. High profile lectures in the Speaker’s House or similar, on values relating to Mayflower 400, including religious tolerance, defence of freedom, future of democratic values, etc 2. Parliamentary exchange with the British-American All Party Parliamentary Group to strengthen relations with American counterparts 3. Series of Thanksgiving dinners to host American leaders and partner organisations	Total £400k
Programming & commissioning	1. ‘Illuminate’ 2. ‘Mayflower Encounters’ national commissions 3. Mayflower Creative Makers 4. Producing, commissioning and curation	1. International spectacular light festival as opening and closing ceremony (£750,000) 2. Artists commissions and programming linking the UK destinations together and to the international locations, across art forms and through 2020 (£1.75m) 3. National and international development programme upskilling and connecting artist makers to new creative & partnership opportunities and export markets (£400,000) 4. Producing and commissioning of local activities to create a compelling national programme across art, culture, heritage and other creative industries (£2m)	Total £5.4m

Digital and immersive content	1. Immersive storytelling 2. Digital outreach 3. Creative new models	1. AR/VR/mixed reality heritage engagement content (£1m) 2. Low cost tech linked to heritage (£500,000) 3. Work with new global platforms (£500,000)	Total £2m
Community Engagement	1. Volunteer programme 2. Communications 3. Community commissioning	1. 5000 volunteers across the UK partnership, 100,000 volunteering hours (£3.5m) 2. Community engagement and communications (£500,000) 3. Commissioning of community and cultural activity within each of 11 locations inspired by the Mayflower 400 themes (£1m)	Total £5m

Existing Revenue Funding

A partnership of local authorities, local institutions and commercial organisations has to date committed revenue funding and in-kind support valued at £9.1m to the Mayflower 400 programme of heritage and modern culture. Additional funding applications are in process for specific content delivery.

Committed Revenue	Value	Synopsis
Public/Private Sector cash committed	£6.6m	Investment of c£3.6m from local authorities External funding of £2m secured to date from commercial sponsors and partners Commercial and private sector funding of £1m
Public/Private/Community Sector in-kind committed	£2.5m	Contributions from 18 authorities, destination management organisations and cultural organisations Contributions from 8 universities, with engagement growing across the sector Support from a range of public, private and community organisations in the delivery of events, marketing and wider activity
Total:	£9.1m
Other Revenue Considerations	Value	Synopsis
Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and other cultural investment		There are 47 ACE-funded ‘NPO’ organisations across the partnership, with varying levels of Mayflower activity incorporated in their planning
Anticipated further funding	£4m	Other outstanding applications for funding and associated match funding

Capital Investment in Mayflower locations

Significant capital investment programmes relating for the commemorations year in 2020 are in place across the UK Mayflower locations with 2020 as deadline for delivery. This investment provides the ‘stage’ for our exceptional programme of heritage and modern culture, though not the ‘show’ of the programme itself. The table below summarises the committed capital investment of £282m to date, including both public capital investment and public-private programmes.

Capital Project Summary	Value	Synopsis
Mayflower Specific Projects	£45m	The Box, Art and Heritage Centre, Plymouth National Mayflower trail Plymouth Heritage trails and assets Bassetlaw Museum extension Harwich Visitor Centre and associated attractions Southampton heritage sites Boston Heritage and Art installations Worcestershire Heritage
Public Realm Investment	£29m	Plymouth city centre public realm project Harwich public realm Mayflower Park development in Southampton
Other Public-Private Investment	£208m	Plymouth railway and coach infrastructure Cruise capacity 8 new hotels across the UK Leisure facility developments Doncaster Market and public realm improvements
Total:	£282m

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