City of Culture dreams over for Great Yarmouth & East Suffolk
Their bid hasn't made the longlist
Last updated 8th Oct 2021
Great Yarmouth and East Suffolk have been unsuccessful in the bid to become City of Culture 2025.
They've failed to make the long-list for the title.
Of the 20 bids submitted, only 8 will progress to take over from Coventry. They are Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Bradford, Cornwall, County Durham, Derby, Southampton, Stirling and Wrexham County Borough who will be able to access £40,000 each to develop their full application ahead of a shortlist being announced early next year.
Sir Phil Redmond, chairman of the City of Culture expert advisory panel, said:
"The expressions of interest stage was introduced as an opportunity to encourage many more places to experience the benefit of coming together to define and share a cultural vision for their areas, and what the longlist demonstrates is the range and depth of cultural ambition across the whole of the UK.
"Also for the first time, each longlisted city will receive financial support to help them develop their vision. Each is different. Each has its own story to tell. All share a common aim: to demonstrate how culture can act as the creative catalyst for change. I am really looking forward to seeing how each story develops."
Cllr Carl Smith, Leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, and Cllr Steve Gallant, Leader of East Suffolk Council, sent their congratulations and good luck wishes to the longlist candidates which are continuing in the competition, and said they would be happy to work with them as they progressed their plans.
Cllr Carl Smith, Leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said:
“Whilst our exciting bid with East Suffolk Council to become the UK City of Culture 2025 will not progress to the next stage of the competition, it has created a lot of interest and we are determined to push forward with shining a spotlight on our area. We feel strongly that our coastal region is an inspirational and special place, with a rich and multi-layered culture and many wonderful opportunities. We are determined to open that up to everyone who lives, works or studies here, with all the wonderful benefits it can bring, and to share it and showcase it to the world.
“The shared experience of collaborating on ideas and skills across our two councils has also been hugely positive, while the support for the bid from our cultural and other sectors has been overwhelming and we thank everyone for their hard work and commitment to our cause. We will harness that support and can promise that this is not the end of our endeavours to unlock the creative talent and opportunities we know exist here on our doorstep.”
Cllr Steve Gallant, Leader of East Suffolk Council, said:
“Whilst this is obviously disappointing news, our ambition to shine a light on the wealth of amazing arts and cultural groups and activities in East Suffolk and Great Yarmouth firmly remains. Our bid has brought people together to talk about the potential of the area and we fully intend to keep that momentum going. The key focus for our joint bid was to offer and promote cultural activities which our communities could get involved with and we will continue to do that wherever possible.
“The City of Culture process is highly competitive and challenging and we are proud of our collaborative hard work with Great Yarmouth Borough Council and our other partners. We are also grateful to everyone who expressed their support for the bid.”
Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis said:
“I was hugely impressed with the bid put forward by Great Yarmouth and East Suffolk for City of Culture 2025, and am naturally disappointed that this wasn’t successful.
“The fact that Great Yarmouth felt able to apply shows the huge leaps and bounds made in the last few years in relation to showcasing our area as a cultural destination. We will continue to promote Great Yarmouth and encourage visitors to the area and I am sure we will be bidding again in future so that the rest of the country can see all that Great Yarmouth has to offer.”