UK City of Culture 2021 shortlist announced - Museums Association

Conference 2024: The Joy of Museums booking open now – Book before 31 March 2024 for a 10% discount

Conference 2024: The Joy of Museums booking open now – Book before 31 March 2024 for a 10% discount

UK City of Culture 2021 shortlist announced

Five towns and cities on shortlist
Coventry, Paisley, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Swansea have been shortlisted to host UK City of Culture 2021. Of 11 towns and cities that registered bids for UK City of Culture 2021, five have been shortlisted for the prestigious award.

Hull is the current City of Culture and its programme includes 365 days of cultural events. It is estimated that the accolade has brought a boost of £60m to the local economy in 2017. The city has seen over £1bn of investment since winning the title in 2013.

The winner of UK City of Culture 2021 will also have access to a £3m Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

John Glen, the minister for arts, heritage and tourism, said: “We have received strong bids from across the UK and now have a fantastic shortlist of five that reflect the diversity and cultural ambition of our towns and cities.”

Phil Redmond, the chair of the UK City of Culture panel, said: “The quality, commitment and enthusiasm that came across from the 11 bidders made deciding a shortlist to recommend to ministers as difficult as it was for the two previous UK City of Culture competitions.

“The appetite for using culture to bring about regeneration and to strengthen communities is clearly stronger than ever. The shortlisted areas will now be invited to submit a final bid by the end of September. The panel will assess the final bids from the shortlisted cities before a winner is announced in December.

“The unsuccessful areas will each receive detailed feedback on their bids. Ministers and officials will also engage with them on how best they could realise their ambitions for widespread recognition for their cultural offer.”

Leave a comment

You must be to post a comment.

Discover

Advertisement