News / UK City of Culture
Bristol fails in UK City of Culture bid
Bristol has missed out on the longlist to be the UK’s next City of Culture.
It means it will not be following in the footsteps of such illustrious cultural giants as Hull, Coventry and Bradford – and has lost a chance to win £10m to invest in a year of money-spinning events in 2029 to unlock hundreds of millions of pounds for the local economy.
The city lost out to the likes of Milton Keynes, Blackpool, Ipswich and Swindon on a longlist of nine.
Bristol was eliminated with eight others including the Isle of Thanet, Peterborough, Plymouth, and Reading who also submitted expressions of interest to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DMCS).
2023 saw Carnival return to the streets of St Paul’s for the first time since the pandemic – photo: Bhagesh Sachania
Tony Dyer, Bristol City Council leader, said: “We are committed to delivering a new approach to culture.
“Our cultural strategy demonstrates our long-term commitment to the sector in this city.
“We’re committed to building on the great work of the recent Citizens for Culture citizen’s assembly and ensure that culture can be enjoyed, celebrated and participated by everyone in our city regardless of postcode.”
He thanked the authority’s partners for helping to build Bristol’s “visionary” bid.
Smoosh! was Paraorchestra’s large-scale musical promenade that took place in Knowle West in 2021 – photo: Paul Blakemore
Trinity Community Arts CEO Emma Harvey said: “The connections Bristol has built through this expression of interest have been huge.
“We’ve come together around a shared, citizen-led vision for culture in our city and region – one grounded in the people and places that make our area so magical.
“Though we weren’t longlisted, it’s the energy and spirit of our place that matters, and Bristol has that in abundance.
“This was never just about a bid. It’s about how we show up for each other as a city.
“The task now is to keep going by working together, backing each other and getting on with delivering a cultural offer that represents all of us.”
Island of Foam as part of Bradford’s UK City of Culture year in 2025 – photo: Andrew Benge
The snub from DMCS, which runs the City of Culture competition every four years, comes just days after it emerged the Green-led council had quietly axed the successful Bristol Nights partnership.
That sparked anger from Labour and an open letter to Dyer urging a rethink from about 100 representatives of the local nighttime economy and cultural sector, including some of the city’s most influential venues, festivals and voices.
It also follows a U-turn in January when the local authority scrapped proposed £635,000 cuts to grants for cultural organisations following a major protest campaign led by performing arts union Equity, with the money in the budget now being protected for three years.
Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol
Main photo: Rob Browne
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