sign up on social media and support plymouth’s city of culture bid Plymouth now knows which cities it will be competing with for the title of UK City of Culture 2017. Eleven places – some of the bidders are clearly not cities – have put their names forward to become UK City of Culture. They include, among others, Aberdeen, Dundee, Leicester, Southend and Swansea. Somewhat strangely Portsmouth and Southampton have put aside old rivalries to submit a joint bid, while even stranger is the lumping together of five towns in Kent to enter the contest under the banner of ‘East Kent.’ Some of the others on the list are clearly towns, so as a city of longstanding history and heritage, Plymouth must surely be in with a decent shout. Bids have to be submitted by the end of April with a shortlist of four cities to be announced in June. The economic value of being an official City of Culture is immense. In their year as European City of Culture, Liverpool received 9.7 million additional visitors to the city which resulted in over £735 million in additional visitor spend. We all need to get behind Plymouth’s bid and social media could play a key role in this. Twitter and Facebook pages have been created to support Plymouth’s bid and the more of us who ‘sign up’ the more chance we have of getting on that short list. The bid’s official Twitter profile – @Plymouth2017 – has already attracted several hundred followers, and the hashtag #Plymouth2017 is circulating among users. Hundreds more people have also ‘liked’ the Facebook page, which can be found by searching for “Plymouth City of Culture 2017”. Against this background we report in this issue on the appointment of the hugely experienced Amanda Plumley as chief executive of Destination Plymouth – and the launch of Plymouth’s first-ever History Festival in May.
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Amanda’s job will be to champion the cause of Plymouth’s visitor economy and also get involved in other strategic developments in the city. We wish her well in her new role. Meanwhile, you can read about the Plymouth History Festival on pages 28 and 29 of this issue: there are well over 100 events planned to suit all ages and interests. Hope you enjoy the latest issue – and remember to back the bid!!! Publishers: Chris Girdler and Ian Pilkington Editor: Debbie Girdler Designers: Lawrence Bird and Sven Lauch Photography: Roy Perring Contributors: Anthony Goord; Kerry Cole; Fiona Newton, Derek Anderson and Maria Ashurst; Charlie Waters; Dr Laurence White. Advertising sales: Naomi Shearer, Sarah Simpson, Stefanie Clifton-Sprigg and Shakira Floyd Distribution: John Kowalski Finance: Karen Pilkington and Kim Craig Front cover: To celebrate Plymouth’s History Festival in May we feature the Elizabethan House, New Street in Plymouth’s historic Barbican. Picture by Plymouth Magazine photographer Roy Perring Contacts: Editorial Tel: 01752 268635 e-mail: chris@cornerstonevision.com Advertising Tel: 01752 225623 e-mail: ian@cornerstonevision.com The views expressed in the plymouth magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers. Every effort is taken to ensure the accuracy of all information contained in this magazine. However, the publishers do not accept any liability for any advice or information included in the magazine. the plymouth magazine is distributed free to 40,000 homes across Plymouth each month, with a further 5,000 copies strategically placed in leisure and retail outlets in Plymouth, Saltash and Tavistock. Published by Cornerstone Vision, 28 Old Park Road, Peverell, Plymouth PL3 4PY Tel 01752 225623 Fax 01752 673441 e-mail info@cornerstonevision.com web: www.plymouthliving.co.uk
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