Four in the running for UK City of Culture crown

Museums in Blackpool, Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Wrexham will be keeping a keen eye on the UK City of Culture competition now these four places have been shortlisted to become the UK City of Culture 2029.

The winning city will be announced early next year. Each shortlisted place will receive at least £125,000 to take forward their bid, with the winning city banking £10m.  

Museums, galleries and heritage sites have played a key part in the programmes created for previous UK cities of culture, which was last held in Bradford in 2025. The previous locations were Coventry in 2021, Hull in 2017 and Derry-Londonderry in 2013.

Bradford District Museums & Galleries hosted a number of exhibitions during Bradford’s year as City of Culture, including the Turner Prize at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery.

Wrexham is home to the recently opened Football Museum of Wales and Wrexham Museum. Tŷ Pawb, which is housed in Wrexham's former People's Market, is nearby the new museums.

Tŷ Pawb creative director Jo Marsh said: “In repurposing a former market and creating a creative and community hub, Tŷ Pawb shows the power of culture to bring new life to a place. A key driver for Tŷ Pawb and the Wrecsam2029 bid is Wrexham's world-renowned culture of radical playwork and the idea that using playfulness can drive creativity, participation, collaboration, wellbeing and social cohesion.

"Securing the title would enable the delivery of a year of county-wide playfulness to fuel generational cultural, social and economic change.”

Blackpool is home to Showtown, a museum that opened in 2024 and is focused on the town’s history as an entertainment town.

Blackpool Council leader Lynn Williams said: “Blackpool has been entertaining people for generations, and now we have the chance to show the country exactly what our town is made of. Being shortlisted for UK City of Culture 2029 is a chance to celebrate everything that makes Blackpool what it is. Our music, dance, comedy and entertainment, the Ballroom, the Tower, the Opera House, the Grand Theatre; our bandstands, festivals, fireworks and Illuminations.”

Milton Keynes has a museum dedicated to the history of the Buckinghamshire city and also has the MK Gallery, which has just opened an exhibition (until 28 February 2027) about Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976). The show marks the 50th anniversary of the British artist’s death.

MK Gallery director Anthony Spira said: “Today is a thrilling day for Milton Keynes. We are absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for the title of UK City of Culture 2029 as we unveil this landmark exhibition on LS Lowry – perhaps one of the UK’s most famous artists of modern times.”

Sheffield Museums Trust has six sites - Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet; Graves Gallery; Kelham Island Museum; Millennium Gallery; Shepherd Wheel Workshop; and Weston Park Museum.

Sheffield City Council leader Fran Belbin said: “Being shortlisted for UK City of Culture 2029 is fantastic news for Sheffield and a proud moment for everyone who has helped shape our bid. Sheffield is a city built on creativity, innovation and community spirit. From our world-renowned music heritage and vibrant independent arts scene to our festivals, libraries, theatres, museums, galleries and grassroots creativity, culture is part of who we are.”

The places that missed out on being shortlisted for the UK City of Culture 2029 were Inverness-Highland, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Swindon.