Roll with it: How hosting drives city investment
Liverpool’s Eras Tour Love Story could be surpassed by Manchester’s Supersonic rise
Also in this edition:
Celebrating diversity boosts city visibility.
The digital platforms that help a city tell its story.
UK cities most aligned to the Government’s agenda.
Liverpool is the UK’s most talked about city outside of London for a second consecutive year, its position elevated in 2024 by Taylor Swift’s globally celebrated Eras Tour. The “Swiftie Effect” increased the gap between second place Liverpool and third place Manchester by up to 40%.
But Oasis’ reunion tour, together with coverage of the “New Trafford” Manchester United stadium redevelopment, could see Manchester become the UK’s second most talked about city in 2025. The four UK cities that hosted Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in 2024 benefitted from an average 4% boost to their online visibility when compared to the previous year – ranging from 3.1% in London to 4.5% in Edinburgh. Conversations outside the UK drove this increase – visibility from overseas increased by 13% on average in the two months around the event, and by up to 19% in Cardiff.
While the “Swiftie Effect” bypassed Manchester, the city has been experiencing its own music related uplift thanks to Oasis. The news of Oasis’ reunion boosted the city’s visibility by 2.3% last year – 1 in 40 online mentions about Manchester included content about the Gallagher brothers’ tour.
The opening of Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena also boosted mentions by 1.5% in 2024, meaning we can expect the news of the Old Trafford redevelopment to have a significant impact on Manchester’s total in 2025. Our data suggests that Manchester could leapfrog Liverpool in the rankings next year – not least because of Oasis’ Mancunian heritage. Liverpool’s visibility was boosted by 1.8% through conversations about The Beatles in 2024, showing the potential added premium of local-born artists for a city's cultural clout.
Download the Report
🟢
Download the Report 🟢
This edition of ING’s UK’s Most Talked About Cities demonstrates the significance of global events, both hosting and posting. The ability to host events is an ongoing consideration for cities seeking to drive visibility and, in turn, investment and economic growth.
Cities lacking the large-scale infrastructure for mega music can still make digital waves. In this report, our analysis demonstrates the other ways cities can succeed – by embracing diversity, leveraging the platforms of the future, aligning with the government agenda, and teaming up with neighbouring cities.
WHAT DOES THE EVOLVING DIGITAL LANDSCAPE MEAN FOR YOUR COMMUNICATIONS?
Leverage major events and infrastructure to tell your investment story
High-profile events such as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour or Eurovision offer exceptional opportunities to elevate your city’s profile nationally and internationally. At the same time, milestones in infrastructure, including new arenas, transport hubs, or regeneration projects, serve as powerful investment hooks.
Use soft power and diversity to your city’s advantage
While not every city can host large-scale events, all cities have distinctive assets – from cultural heritage and innovation to rich, diverse communities. Celebrate and communicate these strengths consistently, and place inclusivity at the heart of your brand identity.
Prioritise emerging digital platforms
As platforms like TikTok and LinkedIn gain prominence, cities must adapt their content strategies to meet audiences where they are. Tailor messaging to suit each platform’s tone and user behaviour to maximise visibility and engagement in a competitive landscape.
Align with government growth missions
Demonstrate how your city contributes to national priorities. Aligning with government missions boosts relevance and strengthens your city’s appeal to investors. Choose one or more areas of focus and communicate tangible progress clearly and consistently.
To get in touch and discuss what this means for your own communications, please contact Lucie Murray, Senior Cities Strategist at ING: lucie.murray@ing-media.com
For exclusive research, events and knowledge sharing, join our Visible Cities Network.
ING Media’s investigation into The UK’s Most Talked About Cities (2025) covered 50 cities and ranked them by digital mentions across 2024. These mentions originate from online news, ‘X’, LinkedIn, TikTok, forums, blogs, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, comments and reviews. Spelling variants included to cover the following languages; English, Chinese (simplified), Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian, German, French, Malaysian, Indonesian, as well as the city’s native language. Mentions containing sports, in particular football, have been limited. Key topic shares, generated from a set of keywords unique to each category, represent only English mentions.
PREVIOUS REPORTS
