British-Indian minister Lisa Nandy launches UK Town of Culture competition

London, Oct 31 (PTI) Britain's towns are being invited to apply for a new UK Town of Culture competition worth 35 million pounds, launched by British-Indian minister Lisa Nandy alongside an ongoing UK City of Culture programme.

The UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said on Thursday that the new competition is designed to shine a light on the smaller places that have shaped the country's cultural life but haven't been given the recognition they deserve.

Also, for the first time, there will be a confirmed cash prize of 10 million pounds 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".

"For far too long, too many people have felt left out of our national story. These competitions are our chance to change that by shining a light on the places that have shaped our cultural life, but haven't always had the recognition they deserve,” said Nandy.

"We already know from UK City of Culture that winning, and even bidding for, these titles brings real benefits – jobs, investment, and opportunities for people to get creative and learn new skills. Now I want towns to be able to get these benefits too and that is why I am proud to launch the UK Town of Culture competition.

"Every place has a story worth telling, so I want to encourage towns across the UK to step forward and show us what makes them special,” she said.

The UK Town of Culture competition will be targeted at small and medium-sized towns to enable them to tell their story. While the winning town will be awarded 3.5 million pounds to help them deliver a cultural programme during the summer of 2028 by harnessing what they claim makes their town special, the shortlisted towns will also receive 60,000 pounds to help deliver their full bids for the competition.  Applications for the competition will be judged on three main criteria of: the unique story of the town; how the town will design a cultural programme for all; and how it will then deliver a successful programme.

Separately, the UK City of Culture 2029 competition opened this week to expressions of interest from cities, large towns, regions and groupings of places across the UK.  To encourage as many places as possible across the country to bid and benefit from the process, all the longlisted places will receive 60,000 pounds each to help them develop their full bids for the competition. The three most impressive bids from places that make the shortlist but are not selected as the winner will receive 125,000 pounds each to help them take forward elements of their bid and deliver real change for the local area.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the criteria for UK City of Culture has also been updated to make the competition “more accessible” to large towns, focusing on creating transformational opportunities and richer lives for people across the UK, delivering local impact and empowering communities to shape their bids.

The department said the competitions will build on the success of the UK City of Culture programme, which it claims has seen significant lasting and transformative impacts across the winning places of Derry-Londonderry, Hull, Coventry and most recently Bradford.

"Bradford 2025 is the first UK City of Culture to be embedded in its surrounding district, reaching far beyond the city centre into villages, towns and the countryside,” said Dan Bates, Executive Director, and Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director, of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.

"We've seen the real impact that has made – from artists bringing creativity to care home residents, vibrant murals bringing colour to the streets, performances in parks instilling community pride, and investment in cultural buildings ensuring access to the arts for years to come – all celebrating Bradford and making it an even better place to live,” they said.

The City of Culture designation is awarded every four years, with the 2029 winner set to be announced next year following entries opening this week. PTI AK ZH ZH