Minty’s Gig Guide to Cardiff map launches across the city, thanks to FOR Cardiff
Last night, over 100 guests including industry experts, musicians and music lovers became the first to get their hands on the brand new bilingual “Minty’s Gig Guide to Cardiff” map after an exclusive event at Clwb Ifor Bach.
Performances from local artists Boy Azooga, Chroma and Mike Dennis marked the occasion and guests heard from Jo Stevens MP, Music Venue Trust, representatives from the Save Womanby Street campaign and FOR Cardiff before the map was revealed.
The bilingual maps include 30+ hand-drawn illustrations of live music venues from across the city and Cardiff Bay towards outer-city areas, including everything from the Wales Millennium Centre and St. David’s Hall to Tramshed and The Gate Arts Centre.
Following the recent success of the Save Womanby Street campaign, it has become more important than ever for FOR Cardiff to celebrate and promote live music in the Welsh capital.
FOR Cardiff’s Executive Director Adrian Field, said: “So far, we have invested nearly £70,000 in Cardiff’s entertainment, live music and arts scene as we feel it’s something that makes Cardiff vibrant and exciting.
“We want to make sure people continue to travel from far and wide to see live music in our city which is why we have previously supported Swn Festival and the Iris Prize. This map is the perfect opportunity to encourage tourism and help the people of Cardiff realise the amazing venues they
have on their doorstep and encourage them to get out and explore.”
The map was created by Daniel Minty, founder of Minty’s Gig Guide to Cardiff, with the aim of spreading the word about all the venues that people can go to in Cardiff to enjoy live music.
Daniel said: “I am extremely proud of this project and grateful to FOR Cardiff for helping me make it happen. Live music is so important for Cardiff, whether you have a venue capacity of 60 or 60,000 – it makes sure our night life is thriving and gives people so much enjoyment, so it was important for me to bring an element of unity to show what we do in terms live music here in the city and show all the venues in one place. I’m delighted that so many people came last night and I’ve had so much positive feedback already. I can’t wait to see the maps in all the venues from now on!”
Minty’s Gig Guide to Cardiff Maps will be available for free in venues/shops and tourist attractions across the city from 3 November. For more information on FOR Cardiff and their upcoming projects, visit: forcardiff.com
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For more information, please contact:
Vicki Spencer Francis/Hollie Jones, Cowshed
vicki@wearecowshed.co.uk / hollie@wearecowshed.co.uk
02920 789 321
Notes to Editors
Who is FOR Cardiff?
Formerly known as Cardiff BID, the FOR Cardiff year-long consultation process involved surveys, business workshops, and face to face meetings with businesses, public agencies and stakeholders. This information was then compiled into a five-year business plan.
This plan proposed a 1% levy on all businesses in the area with a rateable value of £25,000 and above. It was then sent to all relevant businesses in the summer of 2016 outlining what projects the BID would deliver, the area, budgets, legislation guidelines and governance (available to download on our website www.forcardiff.com).
Those eligible businesses were asked to take part in a month long independent postal ballot (conducted by the Electoral Reform Service) to vote on whether they wanted Cardiff to have a BID or not.
In July 2016 ERS announced the result that 84% of those businesses who voted were in favour of the BID. That vote gave the go-ahead for the BID to take forward the five-year Business Plan and drive investment in the City Centre and gave local businesses a greater say in the way it is marketed, maintained and managed. The BID came into operation in November 2016 and changed its name to For Cardiff in October 2017 to ensure the company name was more representative of the organisation’s purpose. The team are now delivering a £7.5 million investment in the area from 2016-2021.
What is FOR Cardiff?
FOR Cardiff is still a Business Improvement District (BID).
A BID is an arrangement whereby businesses get together, decide which improvements they want to make in their city centre, how they will manage these and what they will spend on them.
BIDs have a maximum of five years, which gives them a good length of time for businesses to feel the benefit of the services and projects delivered by the BID.
BIDs deliver services and projects that are always in addition to those statutorily provided by the public agencies including Cardiff Council and Police. They can also be entirely new.
BIDs are usually run by not for profit companies and are controlled by the businesses that fund them. They are run as a private sector organisation with a business mindset.
Following extensive consultation, a BID can be formed following a ballot in which businesses vote on a BID Proposal or business plan for the area.
Since the legislation was introduced in the UK in 2004, over 280 BIDs have been formed in locations including Birmingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Edinburgh and closer to home in Swansea, Newport and Merthyr Tydfil.