UK City of Culture 2025

A RECORD 20 places are bidding to be the UK City of Culture 2025 – how many of them have you visited, and which would you choose?

Regions and towns across the UK are competing for the title, which aims to “use culture as a catalyst for levelling up areas outside London and putting new parts of the UK on the international cultural map”.

Over the coming weeks, the initial applicants will be whittled down to a longlist, which will finally become the shortlist at the start of 2022.

Those places which are longlisted will also receive grants of £40,000 from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the first time such payments will have been made.

The winner will be announced in

May 2022, and will take over the honour from Coventry, the current holder.

As UK City of Culture 2021, Coventry has received more than £100m in capital investment, helping to “support cultural projects, such as Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry Cathedral and Belgrade Theatre, among many others”. Coventry has also been given more than £15.5m from the Government.

Previous holders of the title were Hull (2017) and Derry (2013). The impact of being named is clear, with Hull receiving more than 5.3 million visits to some 2800 events, exhibitions, installations and cultural activities.

Among the bidders to become the UK City of Culture 2025 are the city of Bangor and north-west Wales, Co Durham, Great Yarmouth and East Suffolk, and Stirling, central Scotland.

To see the full list of contenders for the title, visit www.practicalmotorhome. com/news/general/record-20-bids-cityof-culture-2025.