Nine places across the UK have been long-listed to be the next UK City of Culture in 2029 and will each benefit from a funding boost to support their bid for the title.

The nine locations are: Blackpool, Inverness-Highland, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Swindon and Wrexham.

Winning this title will have enormous benefits for local communities, with previous hosts attracting millions of pounds in additional investment and thousands of visitors to their area, as well as generating new jobs.

The announcement comes as more than 230 towns have thrown their hat into the ring to become the UK’s first-ever Town of Culture by registering their interest in bidding for that title. The competition is open to applications from small, medium and large towns for just under two more weeks, with the winner then tasked with delivering a vibrant cultural programme in 2028.

Both of these competitions are part of the Prime Minister’s ambition to restore pride in every part of Britain. Throughout this year, both competitions will continue to shine a light on local visions and voices from across the UK, which will encourage local investment, create a lasting sense of pride, and open doors to the arts for everyone.

The UK City of Culture long-list was recommended by an independent expert advisory panel, chaired by Sir Phil Redmond and supported by deputy chair, Claire McColgan.

The places will now work to finalise their bids, which will explain how they would use culture to create transformational opportunities and better lives for people living in their local area.

All nine long-listed places will receive £60,000 each to help them to develop their full bids for the competition – up from £40,000 since the last competition.

For the first time ever, there will be a confirmed cash prize of £10 million for the UK City of Culture winner to help them deliver a show-stopping year of rich cultural activity rooted in their unique identities and drawing on local strengths and stories. The three most impressive bids from places that reach the shortlist but are not selected as the winner will receive £125,000 each to help them to take forward elements of their bid.

The UK City of Culture 2029 winner will be announced later this year and will follow Bradford’s tenure as UK City of Culture 2025. Previous winners Derry-Londonderry, Hull, Coventry and Bradford have shown how the competition can deliver greater and long-lasting cultural participation, economic regeneration and local pride.

Last year, Bradford led a show-stopping cultural programme of 5,000 events that pulled in an audience of three million, involved over 650 local artists and organisations, and resulted in capital investment for more than 30 local cultural organisations.

Image:  Mark McNeill