Blackpool in final four to be named UK City of Culture 2029

Blackpool has been shortlisted as one of the final four places to be named UK City of Culture 2029.

Blackpool will compete with Wrexham, Sheffield and Milton Keynes to win the accolade, which would mean a £10m, year-long celebration of arts and culture for local people to enjoy, creating new jobs and opportunities across the Fylde coast.

Working with the Arts Council England place partnership funded Creative Blackpool development group, Blackpool Council submitted an Expression of Interest to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in January, before submitting a full bid in August.

Since the announcement, almost 30,000 people from across the country, including leading celebrities and businesses, have all joined the call for Blackpool to be awarded the title.

Judges for the City of Culture Expert Advisory Panel will now visit each of the four places, before announcing a winner in the winter.

The announcement follows a packed programme of events in Blackpool, which has seen hundreds of thousands of visitors enjoy a series of world-class free events, including the 100th anniversary celebrations of Stanley Park, the two-day Air Show, the World Fireworks Championship Blackpool and Illuminations Switch-On concert. The tenth anniversary of the Lightpool Festival gets underway on 21 October.

The events show Blackpool’s diverse and always-on approach to culture, and follow a year where the town has celebrated the works of Claude Monet, William Shakespeare and Sir Ken Dodd, as well as a special concert with the Halle Orchestra ahead of David Bowie’s collection coming to Showtown museum in 2027.

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Blackpool has never needed to be told how to put on a show. We’ve been entertaining people for generations, and now we have the chance to show the country exactly what our town is made of.

“Being shortlisted for UK City of Culture 2029 is a chance to celebrate everything that makes Blackpool what it is. Our music, dance, comedy and entertainment, the Ballroom, the Tower, the Opera House, the Grand Theatre; our bandstands, festivals, fireworks and Illuminations.

‘’It is in Rebellion, our community arts groups and theatres. It is in the traditions passed down through generations, but also in the new things that are shaping our culture today, from gaming and digital creativity to new music, art and performance. Blackpool has never been a town that stands still.

“We should be proud of that. It is proud, working-class culture that has always been about bringing people together, having fun and making something happen. We have always been a town that entertains the country, and there is nowhere quite like Blackpool.

“But this bid is about much more than celebrating our past. It is about our future, and particularly the future of our young people.

“City of Culture would bring new opportunities, jobs, investment and experiences, but it could also give our young people more reasons to believe in themselves, to develop their talents and to see a future for themselves here in Blackpool.

“The bid belongs to the people of Blackpool. It belongs to our performers, artists, musicians, dancers, community groups, businesses, volunteers and everyone who makes this town what it is.

“We now need the whole town behind it. We need people to get involved and show the judges why Blackpool is special.

We have a unique culture, a huge heart and a story that deserves to be told. Now we have the chance to show the country exactly what Blackpool is capable of.”

If successful, Blackpool would receive a £10m grant from the government towards a year-long celebration of arts and culture, to be enjoyed by local people as well as increasing the tourism economy. As well as the grant, the title of City of Culture also brings additional funding, sponsorship and investment to support regeneration and events.

Even if unsuccessful, the town would receive £125,000 to take forward some elements of the bid.

Adam Knight, Chair of Creative Blackpool said: “Our City of Culture year will reframe people’s expectations of Blackpool.

“With a playful and intelligent programme of events designed to surprise and excite everyone, our proud working-class roots and resilient spirit will shine through bold new creative collaborations.

“Our famous welcome will be extended world-wide and will encourage people to take a second look at the potential of their own seaside towns and coastal communities.”

Kate Shane MBE, Managing Director of Blackpool Tourism Limited, added: “We are thrilled that Blackpool has made it through to the next round. Wherever I go, I hear the same message: people believe in Blackpool and are proud to support our bid.”

“To be crowned City of Culture 2029 would be a fantastic opportunity to showcase Blackpool to new audiences, inspire more people to visit, support local businesses and create lasting economic and social benefits for the town and its communities.”

The bid has been backed by local, national and internationally recognised artists, businesses, performers, political leaders and celebrities, all asking the government to bring the accolade to Blackpool.

Successful local celebrities including the Pet Shop Boys’ Chris Lowe, punk star John Robb, explorer and author Jordan Wylie MBE and Blackpool’s most famous British export, Sooty, joined Blackpool fans such as Stephen Mulhern, Toyah Wilcox, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Laurence Llewellyn Bowen to throw their support behind the bid.

Blackpool Council has worked closely with local cultural organisations and creatives, including Creative Blackpool, LeftCoast, Grand Theatre, Aunty Social, House of Wingz, Bootleg Social, The Old Electric, Abingdon Studios and Blackpool and the Fylde College to develop the incredible programme of events and projects presented in the bid.

Over the last few months, those conversations have opened up amazing ideas about how to accelerate Blackpool’s cultural future, shaped both from within the town and through a wide network of regional and national partners, including Factory International, Opera North and Marlborough Productions.

Support from across the Fylde Coast and the county has strengthened programmes even further thanks to the backing of Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire Combined County Authority and Business in the Community.

Blackpool Council has also been working with local businesses and attractions, such as Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool Grand Theatre, Showtown, Blackpool Tourism Ltd, Blackpool BID, Business in the Community and Cuffe and Taylor to highlight the opportunities that City of Culture could bring to Blackpool.

Over 60 organisations, including membership bodies acting on behalf of other groups, have signed or submitted their own letters of support for the bid, including the leaders of Fylde and Wyre councils, the Lancashire Combined County Authority, many of our Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprises, Blackpool Heritage Forum, health bodies, business organisations, educational institutions, plus significant cultural organisations including Factory International, the V&A, Southbank Centre, British Esports Federation, the Crafts Council and Arts Lancashire on behalf of Lancashire’s National Portfolio Organisations and others.

Blackpool’s bid

The broad initial scope of the bid focusses on Blackpool’s unique status as the original mass market seaside resort and where the UK comes to play building on a history of culture in all its forms.

Blackpool, the world’s first mass seaside resort created for the working-classes, has always led the way through invention, creativity and the radical idea that culture and joy should belong to everyone. The bid will see exciting new projects with national and internationally renowned names such as; Jack Holden, Chila Kumari Singh Burman, Hamish Hamilton and Blackpool-based Garth Gratrix.

Should the bid be successful, it would include four distinctive public propositions with sustained participation, learning, health, skills, sector development and infrastructure:

• We’ll Show You will present Blackpool’s culture at its most ambitious-from major performance and immersive spectacle to dance, music, broadcasting and artist-led interventions
• The Welcome Inn will build on Blackpool’s traditions of hospitality, exchange and shared enjoyment
• Sea Change will connect culture with care for people, communities and the environment
• It’s Like Blackpool Illuminations in Here! will use the 150th anniversary of the Illuminations to connect local participation with international artistic and technological innovation

Each proposition will include large scale events, as well as works in the community, with local schools and community groups to leave a lasting legacy that extends beyond 2029.

Everybody is still encouraged to visit www.blackpool2029.co.uk to show their support to back the bid.