UK City of Culture

History

Establishment

In January 2009, it was announced that then Culture Secretary Andy Burnham was considering establishing a British City of Culture prize and that the winning city might possibly host events such as the Turner Prize, Brit Awards, Man Booker Prize and the Stirling Prize. Phil Redmond was invited to chair a panel set up to consider the proposal, with a remit including deciding how often the prize should be awarded. A working group was established in March and reported in June 2009, suggesting that the designation be given to a city once every four years starting in 2013.

The working group stated in its report that the same calendar of events, such as hosting the Brit Awards, should not be staged by each designated City of Culture. Rather, they suggested that the events held in the city should be decided on a case-by-case basis. The report lists possible core events, including those run by the BBC, Sony, the Poetry Book Society, the UK Film Council, the Tate, VisitEngland, VisitBritain, the Museums Association, the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, Channel 4 and the Arts Council England.

Title holders

Derry~Londonderry 2013

Following the report of the working group, Burnham's successor as Culture Secretary, Ben Bradshaw, announced a competition to select the first UK City of Culture in July 2009. The deadline for initial bids was 11 December 2009, with shortlisted cities having until 28 May to make their final bids. A total of 14 cities applied, with four (Birmingham, Derry, Norwich and Sheffield) shortlisted. At a special televised ceremony in Liverpool on 15 July 2010, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey announced that Derry would be the first ever UK City of Culture. The festival was spearheaded by Culture Company 2013 and they branded the city as "Derry~Londonderry".

Hull 2017

Main article: Hull UK City of Culture 2017

After 2013, the next UK City of Culture was scheduled for 2017. Officials from Aberdeen stated they would bid for the title, as did officials from Dundee, while local officials from Colchester, Derby, Leicester, Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent, Swansea, Hull, and York suggested that those cities would bid for the 2017 title. On 18 April 2013, the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce announced that Portsmouth and Southampton were making a joint bid for the 2017 title. There was also a bid from East Kent (Canterbury, Ashford, Folkestone, Dover and Thanet), and another from Hastings and Bexhill-on-Sea, supported by celebrity Graham Norton.

In June 2013 the shortlist of four bids from Dundee, Hull, Leicester and Swansea Bay was announced. The winner of the 2017 title was announced on 20 November 2013 and Hull was chosen.{{cite news |access-date=20 November 2013

On 1 January 2017, the Hull event opened with a fireworks display over the Humber Estuary and a series of sound and light installations collectively known as Made in Hull, which reportedly attracted more than 25,000 visitors.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-38483517|title=UK City of Culture: Fireworks and projections start Hull 2017 |access-date=3 January 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04nbw7x|title=Made in Hull – the crowds keep coming

The BBC reported that a report by Hull University in March 2018 found Hull's status as the UK City of Culture attracted more than five million people, £220 million of investment and 800 new jobs.

Coventry 2021

Main article: Coventry UK City of Culture 2021

Swansea, Paisley, Stoke-on-Trent, Coventry and Sunderland were all shortlisted to be the third UK City of Culture. Coventry's win was announced by arts minister John Glen in Hull and broadcast live on The One Show on 7 December 2017. Glen said it was "an incredible opportunity for Coventry to boost investment in the local economy, grow tourism and put arts and culture centre stage". In July 2020 it was announced that the start of Coventry's year as City of Culture had been put back to May 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city has received more than £15.5 million in support from the UK Government to support the annual festivities, with a further £100 million raised in capital investment for the city to support city cultural projects such as Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry Cathedral and Belgrade Theatre.

Bradford 2025

Main article: Bradford UK City of Culture 2025, UK City of Culture 2025 bids

On 31 May 2022, Bradford was announced as the 2025 holder of the title, with the three runners-up receiving £125,000. The bidding contest was conducted between 2021 and 2022. A record twenty bids were submitted from various cities and regions across the UK. On 8 October 2021, eight bids were longlisted, them being; Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Bradford, Cornwall, County Durham, Derby, Southampton, Stirling, and Wrexham County Borough. On 18 March 2022 this was shortened to just Bradford, Durham, Southampton and Wrexham.

The other failed bids include; Bangor, Borderlands, Conwy, Lancashire, Medway, Newport, Powys, Tay Cities (also including Fife), Torbay and Exeter, Wakefield, Wolverhampton, and Great Yarmouth & East Suffolk. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Plymouth had both expressed interest in bids, but were not included in the applicant list. Bids from Northampton, Norwich, the Tees Valley, Luton, and Gloucester were withdrawn or ruled out before the final application deadline.

The holder was originally set to be announced in December 2021, but was postponed due to the number of applicants, with a longlist released on 8 October 2021. The final application deadline was on 26 January 2022 with the shortlist of four bidding places released on 18 March 2022 (with visits to the shortlisted places conducted in Spring 2022), and the 2025 holder Bradford was announced on 31 May 2022 live on The One Show.

2029

The bidding contest is being conducted between 2025 and 2026. Blackpool, Bristol, Exeter, Ipswich, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Swindon, and Wrexham and have all declared intentions to bid. Following the deadline for expressions of interest on 8 February 2026, a longlist of up to eight cities is expected to be announced in March 2026, followed by a four city shortlist four months later. The winning city is expected to be announced before the end of 2026.

List of UK Cities of Culture

Notes

References

References

1. "Derry/Londonderry will be UK City of Culture 2013". [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport]].
2. "UK CITY OF CULTURE 2021 Guidance for bidding cities".
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4. (June 2009). "UK City of Culture: Working Group Report". Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
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6. (24 February 2010). "Four UK cities make culture title shortlist". BBC News.
7. (15 July 2010). "Londonderry named the UK City of Culture". BBC News.
8. (15 July 2010). "uk city of culture". Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
9. "Culture Company 2013".
10. (12 June 2012). "Aberdeen to prepare bid for UK City of Culture title in 2017". BBC News.
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12. (18 November 2012). "Colchester: Successful bid to become UK's Capital of Culture 2017 could net town £10million boost". EADT24.
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17. (6 March 2013). "Swansea Bay is aiming to become the UK's City of Culture for 2017.". [[The Wave 96.4 FM.
18. (25 March 2013). "City of Culture bid: Send us your pictures to show off best of Hull". This is Hull and East Riding.
19. (6 February 2013). "York's UK City of Culture 2017 Bid Confirmed". [[One and Other]].
20. [http://www.hampshirechamber.co.uk/news/All/2417 Business News Hampshire] {{Webarchive. link. (19 July 2013 . Hampshire Chamber. Retrieved 23 July 2013.)
21. [http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/east_kent_bid_chiefs_submit_city_of_culture_2017_bid_with_hopes_high_1_2174264 East Kent bid chiefs submit City of Culture 2017 bid with hopes high – News] {{Webarchive. link. (15 October 2014 . Kent News. Retrieved 23 July 2013.)
22. (14 June 2013). "Norton's heartfelt plea to culture judges – Local". Hastings and St. Leonards Observer.
23. (19 June 2013). "UK City of Culture 2017 shortlist of four announced". BBC News.
24. (31 July 2014). "Hull hires Olympic ceremonies boss to head 2017 city of culture team". The Guardian.
25. (9 January 2017). "'Staggering' visitor numbers for culture city". BBC News.
26. (January 2017). "Made in Hull opens, Hull 2017 City of Culture – BBC Arts". BBC.
27. (5 January 2017). "Hullywood: Peter Levy is James Bond, Hull 2017 City of Culture – BBC Arts". BBC.
28. Bosworth, Mark. (23 April 2018). "Do UK Cities of Culture create legacies?". BBC News.
29. "University of Hull reveals UK City of Culture 2017 evaluation {{!}} University of Hull".
30. "UK City of Culture 2021: Coventry wins". [[BBC]].
31. (3 July 2020). "Coronavirus: Coventry City of Culture pushed back to May". BBC.
32. "Bradford crowned UK City of Culture 2025".
33. "UK City of Culture 2025 longlist revealed".
34. (18 March 2022). "The final four contenders for the UK City of Culture 2025 title".
35. (20 August 2021). "Record number of bids for UK City of Culture 2025".
36. Hatton, Ben. (2 June 2021). "Could Cambridge, Ely and Peterborough become the joint UK City of Culture in 2025?".
37. Green, Alex. (8 June 2021). "Plymouth may submit bid to become UK City of Culture 2025".
38. Averill, James. (11 June 2019). "Northampton's UK City of Culture bid to be deferred until 2029".
39. Grimmer, Dan. (29 May 2021). "Norwich rules out bid to be UK City of Culture 2025".
40. (11 June 2021). "Tees Valley City of Culture 2025 bid dropped".
41. (15 January 2020). "Luton drops bid to become City of Culture 2025".
42. (22 July 2021). "Gloucester ditches UK City of Culture 2025 bid".
43. (18 March 2022). "UK City of Culture 2025: Derby misses out on shortlist". BBC News.
44. "UK City of Culture 2025: full application guidance".
45. (26 May 2022). "Date for City of Culture announcement revealed – how to watch live".
46. (12 January 2026). "Plymouth to bid for UK City of Culture 2029".
47. (29 January 2026). "Exeter joining UK City of Culture 2029 race".
48. (27 January 2026). "Swindon bidding to become UK City of Culture".
49. "UK City of Culture 2029 Expression of Interest: Guidance for bidders".