Seventeen hopefuls for the title of UK City of Culture 2029 have been whittled down to just nine contenders – Blackpool, Inverness-Highland, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Swindon and Wrexham.
Each longlisted location will receive £60,000 to develop a full application – up from £40,000 since the last competition – with the shortlist and winner to be named in autumn and winter 2026 respectively.
A new cash prize of £10m, a huge increase from the previous £3m on offer, will be awarded to the UK City of Culture winner to help them deliver a programme of cultural activity, and the three most impressive bids from the shortlist will receive £125,000 each to help them to take forward elements of their bid.
“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,” said Phil Redmond, chair of the expert advisory panel that selected the nine contenders.
“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 government has also announced that more than 230 towns have expressed an interest in the new Town of Culture competition ahead of the 31 March deadline.
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The winning town will be awarded £3m to deliver a cultural programme in 2028 of around six months, while two finalists will receive £250,000 each to deliver elements of their bid.
Contenders... ready
Blackpool
The seaside town’s bid was submitted by the council in partnership with the Arts Council England-funded Creative Blackpool development group. If successful, the celebratory year will coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Blackpool Illuminations and 135 years since the opening of The Blackpool Tower and the Blackpool Grand Theatre.
While not technically a city, Blackpool is the 45th largest place in the UK, with a population of 141,500 and a visitor economy valued at £2bn, which meets the bidding criteria for both competitions.
It is home to a large number of cultural venues, including the Showtown Museum, Tramtown Museum and Grundy Art Gallery.
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Creative Blackpool has spent the past three years shaping a new cultural strategy that sets out a bold vision for 2030: for the town to be recognised as the UK’s Coastal Capital of Creativity.
Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Blackpool is bursting with culture and variety. Our diverse culture and entertainment offer means Blackpool has something for everybody, from all age groups and backgrounds.
“Being named as the City of Culture 2029 would showcase the talent and creativity that we already have on our doorstep, making all our residents proud of our bold, vibrant and cultural town.
“To top it all off, 2029 would mark the 150th anniversary of one of Britain’s first and most loved mass arts displays – the Blackpool Illuminations.”
Inverness-Highland
Details of the Highland capital’s bid have not been announced, but the only Scottish contender for the prize is expected to focus on landscapes, languages and sustainable future.
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Notable cultural sites in the city include Inverness Museum and Art Gallery and Inverness Castle, while the wider Highlands are famed for its smaller venues such as the Highland Folk Museum, Caithness Broch Centre and the Highlanders’ Museum.
Museums and Heritage Highland was formed in March 2019 to support heritage in the region, with members such as Ullapool Museum, Timespan, Strathnaver Museum and Nairn Museum.
Scotland office minister Kirsty McNeill said: “With its blend of significant historical sites, contemporary festivals and impressive landmarks such as the newly-restored Inverness Castle, the ‘Capital of the Highlands’ has a unique story to tell. It also has huge potential to demonstrate how culture can drive long-term investment and positive change across the region.”
Ipswich
The Suffolk town’s bid is being run by the a small group of organisations, primarily DanceEast and Ipswich Central, with the support of MP Jack Abbott.
“This is fantastic news for Ipswich and a huge moment for everyone who has worked so hard to get us here,” Abbott said. “This bid has always been about the future of the town. It is about unlocking investment, creating opportunities for young people and showing the rest of the country what Ipswich is capable of. The hard work continues, but today is a real milestone and something the whole town can be proud of."
Ipswich Museum and Ipswich Art Gallery are currently closed, with the former on track to reopen in early 2027 following a major redevelopment.
Other heritage sites in the city include Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich Transport Museum and Ancient House. Clay IA, a new cultural development exploring clay as a material found in homes and cultures around the world, is set to open in spring 2028.
Middlesbrough
Led by Middlesbrough Cultural Partnership, a collective of arts and heritage organisations and freelancers, and supported by Middlesbrough Council, the university town’s bid aims to “deliver a transformative step change for Middlesbrough by embedding creativity as the lifeblood of how we live, work and grow”.
Middlesbrough Museums runs the Dorman Museum and the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, and the town centre is also home to contemporary art gallery Mima, which plays host to the Turner Prize later this year.
Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke said: "Our bid takes Middlesbrough’s motto, ‘Erimus’, - which translates to ‘We Shall Be’ - literally. It brings together our history as an industrial powerhouse with our ambition to become the UK’s most creative place."
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes City Council is leading its bid with a plan that focuses on local creativity, design heritage and forward‑looking cultural identity. Its partners, including Universal, The Open University, Stadium MK and Milton Keynes Islamic Arts and Culture, along with local residents, are involved in shaping the bid as it develops.
Cultural landmarks include Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes Theatre and MK Gallery. A new £76m, 4,000‑capacity venue in the city centre is set to open in 2029.
One element of its bid, Culture Kids MK, would offer every baby born in 2029 five years of free cultural access.
The cabinet member for planning and placemaking at Milton Keynes City Council, Shanika Mahendran, said: “Being longlisted for UK City of Culture 2029 is an exciting moment for Milton Keynes. We look forward to working closely with partners from across the city as we develop the full application, and to showing even more of what makes Milton Keynes such an inventive, welcoming and culturally ambitious place.”
Portsmouth
Nicknamed “We are Proper Pompey”, Portsmouth’s bid is led by Portsmouth Creates, working alongside Portsmouth City Council and built in collaboration with communities across the city, Portsmouth’s bid is “rooted in pride, shaped by local voices, and fuelled by the belief that culture can transform our future”.
The harbour city celebrates Portsmouth100 this year, and its plans for 2029 would build on this celebration to honour local heritage.
Gemma Nichols, chief executive of Portsmouth Creates, said: “Reaching the longlist is a significant moment for Portsmouth and for everyone who has helped shape this bid so far. But this bid is not just about winning a title – it is about unlocking potential for the city’s residents, while showcasing a side of Portsmouth that goes far beyond its traditional maritime identity.”
Many of the city’s museums have a nautical flavour, such as the Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, the D-Day Story, and National Museum of the Royal Navy. It’s also home to Portsmouth Museum & Art Gallery, Royal Armouries Fort Nelson and Portchester Castle.
Sheffield
If it wins, Sheffield will be the third Yorkshire city to be crowned City of Culture – following in the footsteps on Hull and Bradford. Famed for its cutlery trade and as the birthplace of stainless steel, the south Yorkshire city’s bid will focus on its reputation for creativity.
“Sheffield inspires and our city has always been powered by creativity,” said councilor Tom Hunt, the leader of Sheffield City Culture. “We don’t just put culture on a stage, we live it, make it and share it with the world. Grown from the ground up, our culture is shaped by everyone that calls Sheffield home.”
Sheffield Museums Trust runs several sites across the city, including the Millenium Gallery, Kelham Island Museum and Weston Park Museum. The independent National Videogame Museum and National Emergency Services Museum are also based in the city centre.
Swindon
Details on Swindon’s bid have not yet been published, but the town is likely to want to showcase its railway heritage, links to the NHS and its large Polish and Goan communities.
Councillor Marina Strinkovsky said: “We’re a place built by thinkers, makers and innovators and today’s news shows that the rest of the country is beginning to see what we’ve known all along. Longlisting gives us a powerful platform to showcase our heritage, our ambition and our belief in Swindon as a cultural powerhouse.”
Swindon has several museums, including STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, Museum & Art Swindon, which moved to a new premises in 2024, and the Museum of Computing.
The Science Museum Group's Science and Innovation Park is based just outside Swindon. In 2024, it opened the Hawking Building on the site, a purpose-built collections centre where it houses about about 80% of the collection across 27,000 square meters – equivalent to 600 double deck buses.
Wrexham
The only Welsh contender, Wrexham was previously shortlisted for the UK City of Culture 2025 but lost out to Bradford. At the end of last year, it appointed Dirty Protest Theatre to deliver a county-wide programme of innovative, inclusive creative engagement workshops across the borough to help shape its application.
Amanda Evans, culture bid director at Wrexham Community & Culture Trust, said: “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.”
Wrexham County Borough Museum & Archives is currently closed for redevelopment alongside the creation of the new National Football Museum – both of which are set to reopen later this year.
Who didn’t make the longlist?
- Bristol
- Carlisle
- Exeter
- Herefordshire
- Isle of Thanet
- Peterborough
- Plymouth
- Reading
