The United Nations has named Liverpool its first-ever ‘Accelerator City’ for climate action and it will play host to the worlds of film, TV and music as they come together to take action to combat climate change. There will be a three-night music event and an industry summit.
The UN named Liverpool its ‘Accelerator City’ for climate action as part of its entertainment and culture program. The title was given to the city in recognition of it’s a commitment to test new ways to decarbonize the live music and film and TV production sectors. Liverpool is a storied destination for live music. It is also a film and TV production hub with the likes of The Batman, Fantastic Beasts and Peaky Blinders shooting there in recent times.
“We want to make Liverpool the cleanest, greenest city in the world to produce film and TV, and we want to openly share and export these experiments across Europe and the wider world, so that the incredible stories the film and TV industry create are produced without harming our planet,” said Lynn Saunders , Head of Liverpool Film Office, and MD, The Depot Studios.
Music acts confirmed include Massive Attack, IDLES and Nile Rogers. They will play at the Liverpool Arena and be part of the industry event at the adjacent ACC venue (which used to house BBC Studio’s huge Showcase event). Film and TV talent has yet to be revealed.
The conference element, which is called Expedition 1, will bring together the entertainment sector to talk about progress on de-carbonizing the industry and to map what happens next.
The organizers said channel heads, commissioners, producers, showrunners, actors, directors, and HODs will be in town. Partner organizations include the BFI, BAFTA Albert, Equity and BECTU. They will join forces to design super low carbon pilot schemes that can be used in Liverpool. These pilots will then transfer internationally when the next UN Accelerator City is named in Liverpool in November 2025.
The team that launched the Green Rider Campaign — supported by stars including Bella Ramsay, Ben Wishaw and Benedict Cumberbatch – will be in town and said they were “excited to take the Green Rider to other creative professions, particularly in the music industry, and share the progress with their audiences.”
Zen Barry – BBC Sustainability Manger – Production said the project is “of huge importance to the decarbonisation of the Events, TV and Film sector.” She threw the weight of the UK pubcaster behind proceedings. “The BBC is hoping to work with the Liverpool Accelerator City Team in 2025, to pilot and provide proofs of concept for cleaner more sustainable ways of working across a range of genres and formats.”
The concerts run Nov. 28 – 30. The Expedition 1 industry event is Nov. 29 and ensuing public event Nov. 30.