City of Culture Wrexham shortlisted for

THE TOWN, WHICH IS CURRENTLY also campaigning for national ‘city status’, remains in the running after several of those initially considered – including all the other Welsh contenders – failed to make the cut. The accolade is awarded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and is seen as a hugely important boost to the local cultural scene and economy. The 2025 City of Culture will be the fourth city to hold the title since the UK City of Culture programme began in 2013. Previous titleholders include DerryLondonderry, Hull and this year’s City of Culture, Coventry.

Cultural impact

Wrexham County Borough Council announced its bid for the title ‘UK City of Culture 2025’ on 7 July 2021, in conjunction with Wrexham town’s separate bid for city status. In all, eight locations have been longlisted for the title. Those chosen include cities, towns and even counties, with all the home nations represented. Wrexham County Borough in North Wales is listed alongside Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon in Northern Ireland, Sterling in Scotland, and Bradford, County Durham, Cornwall, Derby and Southampton in England.

This sadly means Bangor, Powys, Conwy and Newport haven’t made it through. The bidders, which were announced in October by the government’s Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, will each receive £40,000 to develop their applications – this is the first time longlisted places have received this funding and is seen as a way of levelling up the competition, to make it a fair contest between culturally different areas.

The race is on!

The winner will host a year-long cultural festival, that will showcase the area’s cultural offerings, and attract and focus interest in the region from across the country and the world. It will also leave behind a cultural legacy for the future. Each bidder will work with a panel of experts to finalise their bids, before a shortlist is announced early in 2022. The winner benefits from the opportunity to attract additional investment, to create jobs in many sectors and to draw thousands of visitors to their local area. Wrexham’s bidders and champions will be hoping their enthusiasm for the area and its many cultural, architectural and natural attractions rubs off on the judges when it comes to decision time.