Time to show civic pride in our Fair City

2017 is certainly going to be a big year for Perth and our plans don’t get much more ambitious than the city’s bid to be the UK city of culture in 2021.

Now that Hull has been duly initiated as the 2017 city of culture, the attention turns to the contest in 2021.

Already we are established as one of the favourites, but we face stiff competition from large English cities such as Coventry and Sunderland, as well as Paisley as Scotland’s other entry.

Perth is, of course, used to bidding for civic honours.

We are the newest official city in the UK; winning the contest last time when honours were contested in 2011 and we have a fantastic bid for this upcoming contest.

Massive investment is currently being deployed in Perth that will greatly assist with this bid.

The £16 million refurbishment of Perth Theatre and the development of the cultural quarter in Mill Street shows the scale of our ambition.

Added to that, there is the development of our cultural estate and museums and the plans to bring back the Stone of Destiny to its rightful Perthshire home.

We also have one of the finest concert halls in Scotland, a beautiful riverside setting and a wonderful scenic hinterland.

Historically we are the ancient capital of Scotland, with iconic buildings such as Scone Palace and St John’s Kirk.

There is absolutely no doubt we tick all the boxes on the cultural and heritage front.

These bids are always about much more than just the cultural resources, though.

Regeneration and community development are also part of what is taken into account in assessing these bids.

Perth’s bid is, therefore, built around a programme incorporating our place at the heart of Scotland, of a rural community, a great, green city.

It’s also about our connections, emphasising the city’s role as a meeting place and a melting pot.

We are also promoting ourselves as a‘city of light’ drawing on our city’s heritage as a catalyst for creativity and ideas.

More than anything, it will be about involvement and participation.

Galvanising community support and establishing a raft of community initiatives will be key to demonstrating what we could achieve with the title.

At the end of the month, we will take the bid to Westminster (it is the Department of Culture which will eventually determine the short-list and winner), when I host a reception in the House of Commons.

Following that there will be a series of events around the city and county areas.

Please get behind the bid and support our city.

These awards are important to stimulate economic activity and promote our wonderful city.

More than that, it is about civic pride and about showing the country what our beautiful small city means to us.