Dùn Dèagh (Scottish Gaelic) pronounced ‘Dundee’ is the fourth largest and sunniest city in Scotland after Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Dundee grew as a city through the local jute, marmalade (jam) and journalism industries, which are commonly referred to as the three Js.
Dundee sits in a spectacular setting, overlooking the River Tay estuary on Scotland’s east coast. Once a heavily industrial - and famously seafaring - town, it has transformed itself in recent years into a lively, friendly, safe and affordable city, which is the regional centre for one of the most unspoilt and affluent parts of the UK.
Dundee is promoted as the City of Discovery, in honour of Dundee's history of scientific activities and of the RRS Discovery, Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration vessel, which was built in Dundee and is now berthed in the city harbour.
As in the rest of Scotland manufacturing industries are being gradually replaced by a mixed economy, although 13.5% of the workforce still work in the manufacturing sector, higher than the Scottish and UK average, and more than double that of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The main new growth sectors have been software development and biotechnology along with retail. The city has a small financial, banking and insurance sector, employing 11% of the workforce.
The biomedical and biotechnology sectors, including start-up biomedical companies arising from university research, employ just under 1,000 people directly and nearly 2,000 indirectly. Information technology and software for computer games have been important industries in the city for more than 20 years. Rockstar North, developer of Lemmings and the Grand Theft Auto series was founded in Dundee as DMA Design by David Jones, an undergraduate of the University of Abertay Dundee. Dundee is responsible for 10% of Britain’s digital entertainment industry, with an annual turnover of £100 million.
Dundee is home to Scotland's only full-time repertory ensemble, established in the 1930s. The Dundee Repertory Theatre, built in 1982, is also the base for Scottish Dance Theatre. Dundee's principal concert auditorium, the Caird Hall (named after its benefactor, the jute baron James Key Caird) regularly hosts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Various smaller venues host local and international musicians during Dundee's annual Jazz, Guitar and Blues Festivals.
An art gallery and an art house cinema are located in Dundee Contemporary Arts, which opened in 1999 in the city's cultural quarter. McManus Galleries is a Gothic Revival-style building, located in Albert Square. It houses a museum and art gallery; exhibits include a collection of fine and decorative art, items from Dundee's history, and natural history artefacts. Britain’s only full-time public observatory, the Mills Observatory, is located at the summit of the city's Balgay Hill. Sensation Dundee, a science centre with over 80 exhibits based on the five senses, is also based in the thriving city centre.
