Shortlisted Stockton 'lives and breathes culture'
Stockton CouncilStockton has been shortlisted for the first UK Town of Culture competition.
The town, which a councillor says "lives and breathes culture", will now get £60,000 to work on the national competition bid.
The contest carries a £3m prize for the winner and is aimed at showing that "culture belongs everywhere" as part of a government drive.
Stockton Borough councillor Nigel Cooke, cabinet member for culture, said: "We have a strong reputation and track record of promoting festivals in Stockton and we're very proud of our cultural diversity in our community."
The town centre was picked from 398 bids from more than 400 hopeful towns, including others elsewhere in north-east England, and the final winner will be announced early next year.
Alongside Stockton on the shortlist for "small town" were Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown and Strabane.
The medium towns included Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd and Port Talbot, and the large towns were Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham.
Cooke told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "For Stockton it's quite timely because weeks before, we've just opened our amazing Waterfront Park.
"So we were able to publicise Stockton as a town of culture again."
LDRSHe said Stockton's cultural credentials were "there for all to see".
"We live and breathe culture, and there's many different aspects to that.
"Last year we were celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
"This year we're celebrating John Walker who invented the match."
Cooke also pointed to the Stockton International Riverside Festival two years ago, saying: "While the riots were in other towns, we were celebrating the Community Carnival in Stockton where people right across the community of all faiths, religions and ethnicities came together."
He added: "We feel the cap of the UK Town of Culture very much fits Stockton with everything we do."
LDRSStockton's bid came from a collective of cultural partners including the youth-led movement Bright Minds, Big Futures, the charity Catalyst, Drake the Bookshop, Tees Active and the Tees Music Alliance, Cooke said.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy said she could not wait to see Stockon's final bid.
"What our industrial towns make and build forges the heart of their culture and identity.
"Stockton Town Centre Ward's cultural scene has so much to shout about, from a riverside festival to having the widest high street in the country."
Stockton West Conservative MP Matt Vickers said "Stockton's culture has been shaped by its incredible history and the amazing people who live here", while Stockton North Labour MP Chris McDonald said the shortlisting was "a major achievement".
