The inaugural UK Town of Culture competition, launching for 2028, is a government initiative designed to boost local pride, investment and community identify in towns of all sizes..
Similar to the UK City of Culture contest, it challenges towns to showcase their local history and creativity, with the winner receiving a £3 million prize to deliver a year-long cultural programme.
Key Details:
- Purpose: To restore pride, drive local investment, and celebrate unique, local stories.
- Prize: The winning town receives £3 million, with two runners-up receiving £250,000–£275,000.
- Eligibility: Open to small, medium, and large towns across the UK (excluding Greater London).
- Categories: Three finalists will be chosen, representing small (<20k pop), medium (20k–75k), and large (>75k) towns.
- Selection: An expert panel led by Sir Phil Redmond will assess bids based on community involvement and creative vision.
- Timeline: Expressions of Interest are due by March 31, 2026, with the winner to be announced ahead of 2028
The competition aims to replicate the transformative benefits of the City of Culture, such as increased visitor numbers, improved wellbeing, and economic growth.
The teams in Prescot, Bootle, Widnes, Birkenhead and New Brighton are all working hard on developing their ToC bids.
Birkenhead and New Brighton have launched some short surveys to enable people to provide input before the EOI is submitted – see links below
Survey links:
Birkenhead: https://form.jotform.com/260603865488063
New Brighton: NB Town of Culture
Closing dates:
Survey completion – 26 March
Final competition submissions – 31 March