When people think about soft power, they often think first of diplomacy. In reality, soft power usually begins somewhere much more familiar: a football match watched on television, a film streamed online, a creative collaboration, a qualification earned, a game played, or a cultural exchange experienced firsthand.
These everyday encounters shape how people see the UK long before they engage with its politics or institutions. As discussions at the recent British Council and Soft Power All-Party Parliamentary Group highlighted, arts, culture and the creative industries are among the UK's most useful assets for building international influence, trust and long-term relationships.
The UK's creative economy reaches global audiences on a remarkable scale. According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the UK's creative industries generated approximately £124 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2023, accounting for around 5 per cent of the UK economy. The sector remains one of the UK's major growth industries, creating economic value, exports and employment across every region of the country.
Whether through music, film, television, sport, design, gaming or heritage, UK creativity travels across borders, creating connections that governments alone cannot achieve. These connections matter because soft power is not simply about visibility. It is about relationships. Familiarity can reduce distance and increase understanding, but sustained engagement is what builds trust, collaboration and lasting partnerships.
At a recent APPG session, Katie Nixon highlighted the international reach of the Premier League, which is available in 189 countries and reaches audiences around the world. Its influence extends far beyond football itself. Research presented during the session found that 96 per cent of people interested in the Premier League say it makes them think more positively about the UK. Cultural and creative assets are frequently gateways to wider engagement. Someone who develops an affinity with UK sport, music, fashion or screen content may later choose to study in the UK, visit as a tourist, invest in British businesses or collaborate with UK institutions. Soft power creates the enabling conditions for these wider economic, educational and diplomatic benefits to emerge
Storytelling is particularly powerful in shaping perceptions of place. Speaking at the British Council and Soft Power APPG, Carys Owens of Whisper Cymru highlighted the impact of Welcome to Wrexham. The programme combined football, community and compelling storytelling to introduce audiences around the world to a place they may never previously have encountered. The resulting growth in tourism demonstrates how creative content can raise the profile of local communities while connecting them to international audiences.
Creative content does more than showcase destinations. It communicates values, identities and lived experiences. It helps people understand what contemporary Britain looks like and what matters to the people who live here. That ability to create emotional connections across borders is one of the defining strengths of the arts and creative industries. At the same time, the creative industries generate economic value and skilled employment. As DCMS economic figures highlight, the sector contributes to growth, exports and innovation across the UK. Yet its wider significance lies in how it connects people. Cultural products, performances, broadcasts and creative collaborations introduce global audiences to UK expertise, talent and values. They foster curiosity and understanding, creating foundations for future cooperation.
The British Council sees this dynamic through its international work. Programmes such as the ASEAN-UK Advancing Creative Economy Programme, delivered with the ASEAN Secretariat and co-funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, supports professional development, knowledge exchange and collaboration between policymakers and creative practitioners. Similarly, the European Resilient Cultural Heritage Partnership demonstrates how cultural cooperation can help address global challenges, bringing together expertise on heritage protection, climate adaptation and resilience. These initiatives create lasting connections between institutions, researchers, cultural professionals and communities.
A growing body of evidence demonstrates the value of this approach. The UK Government's DCMS Soft Power Evidence Review found that influence is predominantly built through long-term relationship-building and trust rather than short-term promotional activity. It noted that international audiences often engage with institutions such as the BBC, the Premier League, museums and universities because of their individual reputations and excellence. Through those interactions, wider perceptions of the UK are shaped.
Recent British Council research reinforces this picture. The Global Perceptions 2025 study, which surveyed more than 20,000 young adults across G20 countries, found that trust remains a critical foundation for international cooperation and influence. People's perceptions affect where they choose to study, invest, travel and build partnerships. At the same time, the research highlights growing competition for influence in an increasingly multipolar world. Maintaining positive international relationships can no longer be taken for granted.
The importance of trust is further reinforced by the British Council's Trust Pays research. The study found that individuals who trust the UK are significantly more likely to visit, study, work, trade or collaborate with UK organisations and institutions. Trust acts as a bridge between perception and action, turning positive attitudes into tangible educational, economic and diplomatic outcomes. Crucially, the research shows that trust is built through people-to-people connections, cultural exchange and long-term relationships rather than short-term campaigns.
One of the findings in the soft power research literature is that influence built on genuine exchange proves more durable than influence built on projection. Cultural relations programmes that listen as well as broadcast, cultural exchanges that benefit both sending and receiving countries, and development partnerships designed around mutual interest rather than donor conditionality all contribute to the kind of trust that crosses borders. For example: -
'The literature highlights that the UK heritage sector actively protects physical and intangible heritage in fragile states. Through initiatives like the Cultural Protection Fund, which has awarded over £50 million to 159 projects across 19 countries, and community-based archaeological practices in places like Mozan, Syria, the UK empowers local populations to safeguard and manage their own heritage. UK professionals employ a strategy of ‘quiet diplomacy…Additionally, initiatives like the Cultural Protection Fund deliver direct post-conflict stabilisation. By transferring skills and rebuilding institutions in fragile states, the UK fosters local social cohesion and long-term economic resilience.' (DCMS Soft Power Evidence Review)
Soft power is not self-sustaining; it is fragile. Ultimately, soft power is not built through a single event, campaign or broadcast. It develops over time through repeated and meaningful interactions. The arts and creative industries create those interactions, introducing global audiences to the UK's ideas, talent, values and communities. They help build the familiarity that leads to trust, the trust that enables partnership, and the partnerships that strengthen the UK's influence and relationships.
For organisations such as the British Council, this represents both an opportunity and a responsibility. At a time of increasing geopolitical uncertainty and growing competition for global influence, investing in cultural relations and the creative industries is not a peripheral activity. It is a strategic asset that helps the UK remain connected, trusted and relevant in an increasingly complex world.