Shortlist for UK Town of Culture revealed
Fifteen towns shortlisted for the first UK Town of Culture competition
- Shortlisted towns set to receive £60,000 to work on their full bids with the winner announced early next year
- Shortlist selected from almost 400 applications
Fifteen towns have been shortlisted to become the UK’s first Town of Culture, after nearly 400 places from across the country entered the landmark competition.
This comes as the government confirmed that it has received an incredible 398 bids from over 400 hopeful towns as part of the competition, demonstrating that culture belongs everywhere and shining a light on the many towns across the UK that are vital to our national story.
Fifteen towns will now compete for the inaugural UK Town of Culture 2028 title. The shortlisted towns are:
- Small towns: Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane, and Stockton Town Centre Ward
- Medium towns: Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd, and Port Talbot
- Large towns: Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham
Shortlisted towns will now receive £60,000 each to develop their full bids, which will be assessed by the independent judging panel. One finalist will then be selected from each category with the overall winner being announced early next year.
The UK Town of Culture competition is part of the government’s ambition to restore pride in local areas in every part of Britain and deliver a decade of national renewal, following the announcement of the Pride in Place Programme last year. Throughout this year, this competition - together with the UK City of Culture 2029 competition - will continue to shine a light on local visions and voices from across the UK to help encourage increased local investment, create a lasting sense of pride, and open doors to the arts and culture for everyone.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said:
I want to say a massive congratulations to the fifteen shortlisted towns and I wish them luck in the next round of the competition.
The fact that we received so many applications just goes to show how proud people are of their towns. When I launched this competition, I wanted to shine a light on our amazing towns all across the UK and the huge contribution they make to our national life.
I am so glad that so many towns have applied and I hope each and every town, whether they have been shortlisted or not, is incredibly proud of the work they have done to champion their local community.
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said
Congratulations to Port Talbot and Pontypridd on being shortlisted for the UK’s Town of Culture. Both places have a rich heritage that should be celebrated - and I am so pleased to see them get the recognition they deserve.
Port Talbot is renowned for producing some of the greatest actors in the country, all of whom have been inspired by the industrial heritage of the area. Pontypridd is the home of the composers of the Welsh National Anthem, which has been proudly sung at national events for many decades.
I would love to see a Welsh town be crowned the UK’s Town of Culture and I wish both of them every success with their bids.
Kirsty McNeill, UK Government Minister for Scotland said:
Scotland has an extraordinary cultural heritage, and the presence of three Scottish towns on the UK Town of Culture competition shortlist is a testament to the richness and diversity of communities across the country.
From island life to historic port towns, each of these places has a unique story to tell, and I know that each bid reflects the genuine passion and pride that local people have for where they live.
The UK Government is committed to ensuring that culture belongs everywhere, and I’m delighted that Scottish towns are so strongly represented.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said:
Congratulations to Strabane, which has secured a place in the final UK Town of Culture shortlist, from among 400 applicants.
I know that Strabane will take this opportunity to shine, and I wish the town good luck as they finalise their bid.
The shortlisted towns were recommended by the independent panel chaired by Sir Phil Redmond. The other members of the panel were selected to ensure a broad range of cultural experience and regional diversity. The panel members are:
- Sir Phil Redmond (Chair)
- Ruth Hollis OBE (Deputy Chair)
- Ian Bancroft (Wales Representative)
- Kristel Miller (Northern Ireland Representative)
- Katy Shaw
- Jim Tough (Scotland Representative)
- Adipat Virdi
- Ian Warren (England Representative)
- Paula Williams
Chair of the independent panel, Sir Phil Redmond said:
The response to the competition has been, to say the least, overwhelming, quite literally from all four corners of the UK. It has been fantastic that nearly 400 towns have come forward, sharing their sense of pride, ambition and desire to demonstrate how much they have, and continue to contribute to our national story.
That of course has made making the decision on the shortlist itself much more difficult, never mind the actual winners.
I look forward to visiting those towns that have made the list and I am sure that, just like City of Culture, those that didn’t manage it will have found the experience of taking part worthwhile in strengthening partnerships, raising awareness and reminding us all of the depth and spread of the UK’s cultural landscape. I’d like to thank them all for that.
The shortlisted places will now work to finalise their bids, which will explain how they would use culture to celebrate their town, showcase original storytelling, empower their local communities and provide more accessible culture in their local area.
From these fifteen shortlisted towns, the independent panel will recommend the best small, medium and large town from the full applications they receive. An overall winner from these three towns will be designated the “UK Town of Culture 2028” and receive a £3 million grant from the government. The additional two towns, from the other two categories, will be selected as finalists and receive £250,000 each to carry out part of their programme.
The winner will go on to host a season of culture in 2028, which will help them to deliver a long-lasting legacy of cultural participation and local pride as has been seen in previous winners of the UK City of Culture competition; Derry-Londonderry 2013, Hull 2017, Coventry 2021 and Bradford 2025.
The government’s ambition behind the UK Town of Culture competition is for towns to reap similar benefits from the experience of bidding and encouraging local residents to get involved in cultural events to celebrate their town.
The benefits of cultural investment are clear. Previous UK City of Culture holders - Derry-Londonderry, Hull and Coventry - have attracted more than £1 billion in additional investment and welcomed an estimated 2 million visitors, while recent audience research from Bradford 2025 shows more than 80 per cent of attendees felt events increased their pride in the place they live.
Investment in UK City of Culture and UK Town of Culture not only supports the delivery of exciting cultural programmes but brings a legacy of cultural regeneration. These programmes will help to attract more visitors to places for years to come as well as encouraging creativity and skills development across local areas, growing the local economy and providing more opportunities for local people to engage with arts and culture.
In order to recognise all the towns that have bid in the first-ever UK Town of Culture competition, every bidding town was invited to submit a postcard to celebrate their bid. Last week these postcards were shared across social media and showcased by National Museums Liverpool in a digital display to celebrate each and every town that has participated in the competition. The postcards will remain within the National Museums Liverpool’s national collection.
Further guidance for shortlisted towns to prepare their full bids for the final stage of the competition will be made available shortly.
Notes to editors:
Full list of bids (*marks shortlisted bids):
Small
East Midlands
Ashby de la Zouch
Bolsover
Clay Cross
Darley Dale
Horncastle and Spilsby
Kimberley
Louth
Matlock
Melbourne
Oakham
Oundle
Rothwell
Sleaford
Southwell
Uppingham
Wirksworth
East of England
Ampthill
Aylsham
Fakenham
Newmarket
North Walsham
Rochford
Saffron Walden
Sheringham and Cromer
St Ives
Tring
Ware
Wells-next-the-sea
North East
Alnwick
Amble
Barnard Castle
Bedlington
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Hexham
Peterlee
Shildon
Stockton Town Centre Ward*
North West
Appleby
Barnoldswick
Cleveley
Colne
Garstang
Kirkby Lonsdale
Knutsford
Lymm
Lytham
Maryport
Mossley
New Brighton
Penrith
Prescot
Ulverston
Northern Ireland
Enniskillen
Larne
Limavady
Strabane*
Scotland
Crieff and Strathearn
Dalkeith
Dunbar
Galashiels
Haddington
Isle of Bute*
Keith
Kirkcudbright
Lerwick*
North Berwick
Penicuik
Pitlochry
Selkirk
Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
Stranraer
Whithorn Trust
Wigtown
South East
Beaconsfield
Burford
Carterton
Cranbrook
Dorking
East Cowes
Emsworth
Fordingbridge
Haslemere
Henley on Thames
Kidlington
Lewes
Lymington and Pennington
Midhurst and Easebourne
Newhaven
Newport Pagnell
Petworth
Rye
Sandown*
Shanklin
Stony Stratford
Swanley
Tenterden
Thame
Ventnor
Wallingford
Watlington
West Malling
Westerham
South West
Amesbury
Ashburton and Buckfastleigh
Bideford
Bodmin
Bradford on Avon
Bruton
Corsham
Dartmouth
Devizes
Emersons Green
Filton
Fowey
Glastonbury
Great Torrington
Hatherleigh
Helston
Highworth
Ilfracombe*
Marazion
Nailsea and Wraxall
Nailsworth
Newent
Ottery St Mary
Penzance
Portland
Redruth
Shaftesbury
Shepton Mallet
Sherborne
Sidmouth
Stroud
Swanage and Isle of Purbeck
Tavistock
Teignmouth
Tetbury
Tewkesbury
Thornbury
Torpoint and The Rame Peninsula
Warminster
Watchet
Wells
Westbury
Wimborne
Wales
Abergavenny
Abertillery
Bangor
Blaenavon
Brecon
Caerleon
Caernarfon
Cardigan
Crickhowell
Ffestiniog
Hay-on-Wye
Holyhead
Holywell
Llandrindod Wells
Llangollen
Machynlleth
Mold
Monmouth
Mumbles
Narberth
Oswestry
Pembroke
Presteigne and Norton
Tref-y-Clawdd/Knighton
West Midlands
Atherstone
Bishop’s Castle
Bridgnorth
Broseley
Coleshill
Henley-in-Arden
Ledbury
Leek
Leominster
Ludlow
Market Drayton
Ross-on-Wye
Yorkshire and the Humber
Bawtry
Conisbrough
Driffield
Guiseley
Heckmondwike
Helmsley
Ilkley
Kirkham
Knaresborough
Malton and Norton
Mexborough
Mirfield
Otley
Pickering
Pocklington
Richmond, North Yorkshire
Ripon
Selby
Settle
Wetherby
Whitby
Yeadon
Medium
East Midlands
Alfreton, Heanor and Ripley
Beeston
Belper
Boston
Buxton
Coalville
Corby*
Grantham
Hinckley
Kettering
Loughborough
Market Harborough
Melton Mowbray
Newark
Retford
Skegness
Spalding
Stamford
Sutton in Ashfield
Swadlincote
Wellingborough
West Bridgford
East of England
Bishop’s Stortford
Bury St Edmunds
Felixstowe
Great Yarmouth*
Hertford
Hitchin
Huntingdon
Leigh-on-Sea
Letchworth Garden City
Lowestoft
Maldon
St Neots
Stowmarket
Sudbury
Thetford
Waveney Valley
Witham
North East
Ashington
Bishop Auckland
Blyth
Cramlington
Jarrow
North Shields
Redcar
Seaham
Stanley
North West
Accrington
Barrow-in-Furness
Bootle
Chorley
Congleton
Crewe
Fleetwood
Kendal
Leigh
Leyland
Macclesfield
Morecambe
Northwich
Rawtenstall
St Anne’s on Sea
Stretford
Widnes
Workington
Northern Ireland
Antrim
Scotland
Ayr
Cumbernauld
Dumfries
Greenock
Kilmarnock
Kirkcaldy
Leith*
Livingston
Paisley and Renfrew
South East
Abingdon-on-Thames
Aylesbury
Banbury
Bexhill
Bognor Regis
Chesham
Dartford
Deal
Dover
East Grinstead
Eastleigh
Elstree and Borehamwood
Fareham
Farnham
Faversham
Folkestone
Godalming
Guildford
Hoddesdon
Littlehampton
Margate
Newbury
Newport, Isle of Wight
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Ryde
Seaford
Totton and Eling
Winchester
Woodley
South West
Barnstaple
Bridgwater
Cirencester
Clevedon
Exmouth
Falmouth and Penryn
Frome
Malmesbury
Newquay
Salisbury
Taunton
Weymouth
Yeovil
Wales
Aberystwyth
Barry
Caerphilly
Cwmbrân
Merthyr Tydfil
Pontypridd*
Port Talbot*
West Midlands
Burntwood
Royal Leamington Spa
Longton
Droitwich Spa
Warwick
Halesowen
Evesham
Bilston
Brierley Hill
Stratford-upon-Avon
Dudley
Smethwick
Malvern
Stourbridge
Stafford
Yorkshire and the Humber
Batley
Beverley
Scarborough
Castleford
Holmfirth
Keighley
Bridlington
Large
East Midlands
Chesterfield
Mansfield
Northampton
East of England
Basildon*
Bedford
Harlow
Stevenage
Welwyn
North East
Gateshead
Hartlepool
North West
Birkenhead*
Blackburn
Burnley
Bury
Rochdale
St Helens
Stockport
South East
Andover
Basingstoke and Deane
Chatham
Crawley
Eastbourne
Hastings
Hemel Hempstead
High Wycombe
Northfleet and Gravesend
Sittingbourne and Sheppey
Slough
Thurrock Riverside
South West
Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole
Kingswood
Weston-super-Mare
West Midlands
Burton upon Trent
Newcastle under Lyme
Nuneaton
Redditch
Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield
Rugby
Shrewsbury
Tamworth
Telford
Yorkshire and the Humber
Barnsley
Grimsby*
Halifax
Harrogate
Huddersfield
Rotherham*
Scunthorpe