Research published this week by the British Council, entitled ‘A Special Relationship’, revealed that the cultural connectedness between the UK and the US is ‘strong, and shows no signs of weakening’. The research, which surveyed 1000 young people, noted that 71% of Americans agreed that the UK has ‘world-leading arts and cultural institutions and attractions’. When asked which three things made the UK attractive, its ‘cultural and historic attractions’ scored most highly, 43% agreeing this was crucial to the UK’s offer on the world state. The UK’s ‘history’, came a close second, securing 42% of the vote, followed by the UK’s ‘countryside and Landscape’ at 40%, and the UK’s cities, at 38%.
In contrast, the current and past actions of Governments were only the 16th most important factor (at 17%) in determining how attractive they found the UK. The UK was most attractive G20 country to study in overseas and was the fourth most popular G20 country as a source of arts and culture.
Perhaps unexpectedly, Hogwarts was the most-searched UK ‘educational institution’ by young Americans over the past year