City of Culture report shows it led to hundreds of jobs, huge investment and fierce pride in Hull

Nearly 800 jobs have been created and almost £220 million invested in Hull's tourism and cultural sectors since the city was named UK City of Culture 2017.

The preliminary evaluation, prepared by the University of Hull, showed that "almost everyone" in the city engaged with something in the 2,800-event programme, with more than 95% attending at least one activity during theyear.

Hull's tenure as the UK City of Culture was widely hailed as a success when it finished at the end of December following the presentation of the Turner Prize in the city - both in terms of the quality of its artistic content and thestimulation of the local economy.

Among the key findings of the research were:

- More than 2,800 events, cultural activities, installations and exhibitionstook place, attracting a total audience of 5.3 million.

- More than half of the audiences were from Hull with nearly all residents(more than 95%) attending at least one cultural activity during the year.

- Although total visitor number figures are not available until later in theyear, it is projected that 4.7 million people visited Hull in 2017 - an increaseof 1.3 million on 2013, when Hull bid for the title.

- The projected value of tourism in 2017 is on track to contribute in excess of £300 million to the economy.

- Nearly 800 new jobs have been created in the visitor economy and cultural sector since 2013.

- 465 new commissions were created, against an initial ambition of 60.

- The age profile of audiences showed a high representation of people aged55-64, and an under-representation of audiences aged 16-34.

- In a survey, 75% of residents said they were proud to live in Hull.