GCES 2025: Creative industries provide impetus for democracy and innovation

Hamburg, 6 March 2025 - The German Creative Economy Summit, the most important networking event for the German cultural and creative industries, took place on 5 and 6 March. Around 1,100 participants came together at the International Theatre Factory Kampnagel to discuss current and future challenges and opportunities for the industry. Against the backdrop of recent political developments, the main focus was on the urgent question of how the industry can jointly realise its potential and responsibility and thus promote democracy and social cohesion.

In order for creativity to unfold its full potential, better framework conditions are needed - this became clear in many of the presentations. Social security, the reduction of bureaucratic hurdles, a reform of copyright law and sustainable financing models were topics that were discussed and which, according to the participants, should be high on the agenda of the next federal government. A picture that is also clearly shown by a recent survey of people working in the cultural and creative industries: Over a third see regulations and bureaucracy (38.5%) and high tax burdens (34.4%) as the biggest challenges.* "The German Creative Economy Summit offered creatives the platform to pool their concerns and initiate change together," says Egbert Rühl, Managing Director of Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft.

The economic data shows that the creative industries have a great deal of leverage. It employs almost two million people. This corresponds to around four per cent of the workforce in the German economy as a whole. Around 238,000 companies are responsible for a turnover of around 205 billion euros. This is according to the "Cultural and Creative Industries 2024" monitoring report published by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate.

Standing up for democracy loudly and visibly

The programme at this year's GCES was as diverse as the creative industries themselves. Current trends, the innovative strength of the industry and, above all, the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence were at the centre of the discussion: How will AI shape creative processes? What role will humans play in the value chain? What European answers can there be to American and Chinese AI models? Overarching lines were clearly recognisable time and again: it was all about the importance of collaboration. About forging alliances. And about looking beyond one's own discipline.

Continuation of the GCES in 2026

The various stakeholders were offered a platform to make their voices heard, put forward new ideas and engage in dialogue with other sub-sectors. "The great response we received yesterday and today shows us how necessary this dialogue is. This is the basis for organising the German Creative Economy Summit again in 2026," explains Rühl.

*On behalf of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft, Civey conducted an online survey of around 500 people working in the creative and cultural industries from 24 January to 15 February 2025. All data was collected in Civey's own panel with verified participants. The results are representative of employees in the creative and cultural industries, taking into account the statistical error stated. Further information on the methodology can be found here.