Bristol is a city and county residing within the South West of England. Since the 13th Century it has thrived due to its strong trade links from the Bristol port. The port continues to enjoy prosperity and is popular amongst tourists. Bristol boasts success in arts and culture with a host of famous names growing up in the city, and is also an ideal place to find employment and work in many job sectors. Amongst the many successful industries within Bristol are aerospace, technology and the car industries.
Bristol’s floating harbour has been an important part of Bristol since the 19th century when it helped to provide economic prosperity within the city of Bristol by being a competitive source for trading. Today the harbour is still a focal point of Bristol as the harbour attracts many tourists. Bristol harbour has many bars, shops, galleries and museums for tourists and residents to enjoy. Bristol’s harbour is a floating harbour which means that the water level is not affected by the tide, as there are lock gates that provide a tidal bypass for the river Avon.
Although Bristol was unsuccessful in its application as 2008’s European capital of culture, a title awarded to the city of Liverpool; Bristol is certainly a popular cultural hotspot. As well as being the birthplace of artist Damien Hirst, it is also the home of modern graffiti artist Banksy, whose prolific messages adorn buildings all around the city of Bristol. Banksy is both revered and condemned in his home town of Bristol but he appears to have overcome the critics and is now known as a modern cultural icon for Bristol. Banksy is currently enjoying success with his biggest exhibition in his home town to date, held in Bristol city museum and art gallery until August 2009.
The University of Bristol attracts hundreds of students each year, which impacts greatly on the city’s economy. The University of Bristol prides itself on delivering high quality graduates in a number of fields and takes a keen interest in research and enterprise.
Bristol has many job opportunities within the media and has two daily newspapers within the city. They are the Bristol Evening Post and the Western Daily Press. There is also a free weekly newspaper, The Bristol Observer and Bristol is also one of 16 cities that have an edition of the Metro, a free urban national newspaper that is popular with commuters.
Bristol has two football clubs within the city. Bristol City currently plays within the championship after being promoted in the 2006/7 season. Bristol City plays their home games at Ashton Gate, towards the south-west of the city. Bristol Rovers are the second of Bristol’s football clubs with their home ground located at Memorial Stadium in Horfield and are currently in league one. At the end of the 2008/9 season Bristol Rovers finished 10th out of the 24 teams in the league. Both clubs have huge support within the city of Bristol.