City of Culture submission is London bound
The all-important document for the heavily-feted City of Culture award was approved in secret by Perth and Kinross Council on Wednesday. It is one of 11 bids due to be submitted from around Britain.
Provost Liz Grant said the City of Culture bid was an opportunity to help bolster Perth’s reputation around the world.
She said: “It’s an exciting day for Perth as we wave off our stage 1 bid to be UK City of Culture 2021. Perth’s bid is different to the usual approach to cultural regeneration: we want to use culture to address the complex needs of small cities and large towns that can sometimes be overlooked. At the moment, too much of our local
talent is leaving for the big cities.
“But working together with communities, harnessing the power of new technologies and bringing world-class cultural opportunities to everyone will revitalise our small businesses and make Perth the place to be for creative, entrepreneurial people.
“I’d like to thank Stagecoach and Virgin Trains for their support for Perth. Having local employers on board is vital on our journey towards making Perth a place where culture is a springboard for economic prosperity.”
Martin Griffiths, the Stagecoach chief executive who helped see off the bid team, said it was an “historic day” for the city.
“With Stagecoach’s global headquarters in Perth, we have a long and very close relationship with this great city. I was delighted to see Perth’s city status reaffirmed in 2012 and it is a source of great pride to see the bid for City of Culture carried down to London by a Virgin train on this historic day. We wish them every bit of luck,” he said.
All initial bids have to be submitted to with UK government by the end of Friday. If Perth is successful at this first stage of competition, a full and final bid will need to be submitted on Friday, September 29.
Perth will need to see off competition from Coventry, Hereford, Paisley, Portsmouth, St Davids, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Swansea, Warrington and Wells to take the 2021 title.
The team behind Perth’s bid had to submit a cultural programme of no more than 30 pages to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, along with ideas for creativity and social regeneration, and a plan for the bid’s legacy in the city.
They will also need to have submitted a summary of the economic impact of the proposed cultural programme, and a detailed funding plan.
Matt Hancock MP, Minister of State for Digital and Culture, said “The UK City of Culture is a fantastic opportunity for towns and cities to celebrate their creativity and use culture as a catalyst for economic growth.
“I am delighted to see so many bids from across the country,showing how many areas recognise the important role culture can play in the development and regeneration of communities.”
The official winner of UK City of Culture 2021 will be announced in December at a ceremony in Hull, the 2017 UK City of Culture, which has already received over £1bn in investment. The winner will also be awarded £3m from the Heritage Lottery Fund to boost local heritage.