Wrexham is one of nine places across the UK to have been longlisted to be the next UK City of Culture in 2029.
The locations will each now receive funding to support their bid for the title. Previous Cities of Culture have attracted millions of pounds in additional investment and thousands of visitors to their area, as well as generating new jobs.
The other longlisted locations are Blackpool, Inverness-Highland, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Swindon.
Amanda Evans, Culture Bid Director at Wrexham Community & Culture Trust, said:
“We are delighted to make the longlist and are more driven than ever to win the UK City of Culture title for 2029.
“Winning the bid will help to secure a bright social and economic future for Wrexham, bringing new opportunities for people who live and work in the area, as well as supporting our arts and culture sector in more ways than ever before. This is a really, really exciting time for us and we are committing everything over the next few months to put Wrexham on a global stage and show why we are worthy of winning the title.”
Councillor Hugh Jones, Wrexham Council’s lead member with responsibility for City of Culture, said:
“This is fantastic news, and means we’re firmly in the race for UK City of Culture 2029. We can now move forward with confidence as we begin to build the case for making Wrexham the UK’s cultural focal point in 2029. Wrexham has so much to offer, and the competition will provide a fantastic platform for us to showcase the county borough.
“Congratulations to the bid team and Culture Trust for all their hard work – we are in it to win it.”
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:
“Wrexham is Wales’ newest city and I’m delighted to see it flying the flag for Wales in this competition. The city and area has so much to offer in heritage, culture and sport – I wish Wrexham every success with its bid.
“I also encourage our fantastic Welsh towns to take the opportunity to apply to become the UK’s first Town of Culture so we can share what makes our communities special with as many people as possible.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said:
“For far too long, opportunity has not been shared equally across the country. The UK City of Culture and new UK Town of Culture competitions recognise the enormous contributions made by communities all over the UK who are all part of the story of who we are as a nation.
“I look forward to seeing what the nine longlisted places have in store as they progress in the competition. I also urge any towns thinking about entering the UK Town of Culture competition to seize this opportunity and get involved. It’s a chance to show the country what makes them unique and shine a spotlight on their cultural offer, enriching the lives of local people.”
The UK City of Culture longlist was recommended by an independent expert advisory panel, chaired by Sir Phil Redmond and supported by Deputy Chair, Claire McColgan. Panel members have been selected based on their wide range of expertise from across the UK.
They are:
- Sir Phil Redmond (Chair)
- Claire McColgan (Deputy Chair)
- Roberta Doyle (Scotland Representative)
- Dr Sarah Green OBE
- Shona McCarthy (Northern Ireland Representative)
- Jonothon Neelands
- Devinda De Silva (Wales Representative)
- Moira Sinclair OBE (England Representative)
- Trenton Tomlinson
- Megan Wastell
- Claire Whitaker CBE
The longlisted places will now work to finalise their bids, which will explain how they would use culture to create transformational opportunities and better lives for people living in their local area.
All nine longlisted places will receive £60,000 each to help them to develop their full bids for the competition – up from £40,000 since the last competition.
For the first time there will be a confirmed cash prize of £10 million for the UK City of Culture winner to help them deliver a show-stopping year of rich cultural activity rooted in their unique identities and drawing on local strengths and stories. The three most impressive bids from places that reach the shortlist but are not selected as the winner will receive £125,000 each to help them to take forward elements of their bid.
Sir Phil Redmond, Chair of the City of Culture Expert Advisory Panel, said:
“Once again, the UK City of Culture competition is providing bidders the opportunity to both demonstrate and experience a focused year, using culture as the creative catalyst for change, raising awareness and changing perceptions. Derry-Londonderry, Hull, Coventry and more recently Bradford, have all demonstrated the quality and depth of cultural activity embedded across the UK, as well as the benefits of simply taking part.
“The competition brings people together, to talk to each other rather than at each other, sharing commonality and tolerating difference. Above all, allowing places to demonstrate their own pride in their places.
“It is for these reasons that the new UK Town of Culture competition has been launched, to share the opportunities as wide as possible, with Expressions of Interest (EOI) due by the 31st March.”
The UK City of Culture 2029 winner will be announced later this year and will follow Bradford’s tenure as UK City of Culture 2025.
Last year Bradford led a showstopping cultural programme of 5,000 events – over 75% of which were free – that pulled in an audience of three million, involved over 650 local artists and organisations, and resulted in capital investment for more than 30 local cultural organisations. Bradford’s year in the spotlight also led to increased opportunities for local people to get involved with events, with over 87,000 residents taking part in key projects throughout the year.
Meanwhile, more than 230 towns have thrown their hat into the ring to become the UK’s first-ever Town of Culture by registering their interest in bidding for that title. Many towns have also declared that they will be submitting a bid, to highlight their unique story and the elements of their local culture and heritage that they would celebrate should they be successful.
The competition is open to applications from small, medium and large towns for just under two more weeks, with the winner then tasked with delivering a vibrant cultural programme in 2028.
