Pontypridd, Birkenhead and Isle of Bute shortlisted for first UK Town of Culture
Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham are among the major venues vying for the UK’s first City of Culture title.
Medium-sized Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd and Port Talbot are also included in the shortlist of 15 announced by the government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) on Thursday.
Smaller places such as Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane and Stockton Town Center Ward complete the list.
Each venue will now receive a funding boost of £60,000 to bid fully, after which three winners (the best small, medium and large venue) will be selected by an independent judging panel early next year.
The overall winner from these three finalists will receive the title of UK City of Culture 2028 and receive a £3 million grant to host cultural events.
The two runners-up will each receive £250,000 to run part of their programme.
The UK City of Culture classifies towns into three specific population groups: small towns (under 20,000), medium-sized towns (20,000-75,000) and large towns (over 75,000).
The new competition, in which 15 sites were selected from around 400 applications, will be held alongside the UK City of Culture 2029.
