The government today released the list of the cities and towns that will compete to become UK City of Culture 2021.ย
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed that Sunderland, Cardiff, Wells, Coventry, Hereford, Paisley, St Davids, Portsmouth, Stoke, Swansea, Perth and Warrington will all be vying for the coveted title.
The UK City of Culture project aims to raise the profile of arts and culture in the successful cities and increase tourist numbers. The winning cities also enjoy massive economic benefits.ย
Hull, the UK City of Culture 2017, will this year see its economy boosted by ยฃ60 million. This is in addition to the staggering ยฃ1 billion worth of investment the city has seen since clinching the title back in 2013.ย
The director of Sunderlandโs City of Culture bid, Rebecca Ball, said, โToday is an important day in the process and though itโs good to know who weโre up against, we also know that our focus must be on our own bid and convincing the judges that Sunderland would be a worthy winner of the title.โย
โWeโve already started writing the bid, which will be ambitious and inspirational, but achievable and deliverable.โย
โWeโre being honest in talking about the challenges the city faces and how a successful bid could help solve some of those challenges.โ
โItโs not about putting on a programme of events for an artistic elite; itโs about how we could create jobs, boost the economy, reduce loneliness and isolation and give young people an extra reason to stay in the city.โ
โItโs also about repositioning Sunderland as an ambitious, cultural city with a proud past and an exciting future.โ
The leader of Sunderland City Council, Paul Watson, said, โI believe Sunderland is in the middle of a cultural renaissance.โ
โWe nurture creative people and industries with venues that can spur on the music and art scene.โ
โAchieving City of Culture status would help us send a message to the world that we are a city that is changing, rebuilding and that has something exciting to offer.โ
Sharon Hodgson, MP for Sunderland West and Washington, said, โI think itโs very important for Sunderland to win. Sunderlandโs a fantastic place to live, work, visit, and we want it to be even better.โ
โItโs already great, but winning the City of Culture will just really put Sunderland on the map.โ
โThere are so many great things that Sunderland already offers; weโre already on the map for the music scene, for instance. Weโve got great heritage as well and we just need to spread the word and thatโs what winning something like City of Culture does.โ
The bids are due to be submitted to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport by 28th April. An independent panel will then judge the bids and draw up a shortlist of four cities, which will be published in the summer. There will then be a second round of bids, which should be submitted by 29th September. The winning city will be announced in December in Hull.
Sunderlandโs bid is being put together by a team from the University of Sunderland, Sunderland Arts and Music Trust, and Sunderland City Council. ย
