How to Become the Next UK City of Culture

The Government recently announced that it will launch a competition to find the UK’s City of Culture (UKCoC) 2021. This is the third round for UK City of Culture and we thought it might be helpful to set out our reflections on what bidding cities need to think about before embarking on the process.

Regeneris managed the bidding and assessment process which selected the UK’s first City of Culture for 2013 (Derry) and the current City of Culture for 2017 (Hull). Our team is now evaluating the impact of the Hull programme to help understand its social, economic and cultural impact on the city. City of Culture is a very competitive process. The winner is likely to face many challenges in bidding and implementing a successful programme, although there are significant benefits, even for cities which don’t win.

So, what’s our advice from our involvement in the two previous bidding rounds:

Culture is firmly at the heart of the Government agenda: four locations are currently battling it out to host the Great Exhibition of the North in 2018, some cities are preparing to be the European Capital of Culture in 2023 and culture is at the heart of Sadiq Kahn’s (the new Mayor of London’s) agenda. We welcome the news that the Government has announced another bidding round for UK City of Culture. This is a fantastic opportunity for UK cities which think they have the commitment and drive to secure this prestigious prize, however it is not for the faint hearted!

Regeneris regularly works with clients to develop bid proposals and would be pleased to support cities make the case to become the next UK City of Culture 2021 or similar. If you would like to find out more, contact Margaret Collins on 07826 872 218 or Stuart Younger on 07980 624 112.

 

 

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