YORK has been designated a City of Media Arts by UNESCO.

The accolade recognises everyone involved in York’s vibrant digital arts scene, including computer games designers, digital archivists, film producers, light artists and online publishers, said Kersten England, chief executive of City of York Council, which supported the application.

She said the designation by the United Nations agency 'flies the flag for York’s bid to be the first port of call for media arts in the UK and indeed, one of the most creative cities in the world.'

Other designated cities include Dakar in Senegal,Tel Aviv-Yafo in Israel, Lyon in France and Sapporo in Japan. To achieve the status, cities have to demonstrate development of cultural and creative industries triggered by digital technology, successful media arts integration into urban life, and wider access to culture through digital technology development.

Creative and digital businesses are said to be the largest growth area of York's economy, benefitting from significant investment in supporting infrastructure in recent years, including the £20 million Ron Cooke Hub for creative enterprise and the new £30 million Heslington Studios at the University of York.

Council leader James Alexander said: "This prestigious recognition of York’s creative and media sectors will boost these existing strong industries in York, raise the profile of the city globally, attract new businesses and provide employment opportunities for York residents for years to come."

Charles Cecil MBE, founder of York-based Revolution Software, said the city was becoming a media arts hub because it was an ideal international meeting point for ideas and creativity. "The city is an exceptional and inspiring place to live and work, embracing its past whilst also celebrating the present, making it the best possible environment to foster and develop creativity and stimulate the imagination," he said.

"You can walk through 1000 years of history on the streets of York, but still take advantage of the city’s rapid rail networks, meeting people in London or Edinburgh within two hours. ”

Mat Lazenby of creative agency, Lazenby Brown, said York was leading the way with its free WiFi coverage of much of the city centre, and was well on its way to becoming the country’s first ‘gigabit’ city, with superfast network connections making it easier than ever before for people to work in the digital arts sector.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "This is incredible and well deserved for York - to have UNESCO status is an international badge of honour, recognised by visitors the world over.

"It adds to Yorkshire's already famous UNESCO status locations and is another reason to tempt visitors to our great county."

The designation does not bring any money with it, but it is intended to open up access to new investment opportunities, with the ambition being to double the value of York’s creative industries to £330 million in the next ten years as a result.