Great Yarmouth makes UK Town of Culture shortlist
Glen GardinerGreat Yarmouth has made it to the shortlist for the UK's first Town of Culture.
It is among 15 towns which will now receive £60,000 to work on a full bid, with the winner to be announced early next year.
The Town of Culture 2028 - which attracted 398 expressions of interest - will ultimately be awarded £3m to deliver a programme of activities.
Speaking to the BBC, culture minister Ian Murray said getting to the final 15 was a "fantastic achievement" for Great Yarmouth, which joins Corby in Northamptonshire in the medium towns category. Basildon in Essex is shortlisted in the large towns group.
Great Yarmouth HippodromeThe seaside resort had formed a preliminary pitch based on its history and cultural opportunities for and by local people and pointed out that 2028 was a "key year".
Its restored Venetian Waterways will turn 100, the Hippodrome 125, and the Out There Festival will celebrate its 20th year. The Winter Gardens will also reopen after an £18m facelift.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council is yet to comment, but leader Carl Smith had said the town had weathered industrial change, economic shocks and environmental uncertainty and was now undergoing "its most significant programme of regeneration in a century".
More stories from Norfolk
Community groups who worked on the bid in March previously said the honour would be an opportunity to recognise the momentum in the town and the full breadth of what it had to offer.
''It is rich in cultural diversity, heritage and community spirit, and from murals and street art, to festivals and grassroots initiatives, creativity is part of everyday life," said Ruben Cruz, of urban arts organisation Reprezent Project.
Bids had also been put forward by the Waveney Valley, Wells-next-the-Sea, Aylsham, Thetford and a joint bid from Cromer and Sheringham.
In Suffolk, Felixstowe, Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and Lowestoft expressed an interest.
The shortlisted towns were recommended by an independent panel chaired by screenwriter Sir Phil Redmond, who created Grange Hill, Brookside and Hollyoaks.
The shortlisted towns are:
- Ilfracombe
- Isle of Bute
- Lerwick
- Sandown
- Strabane
- Stockton
- Corby
- Great Yarmouth
- Leith
- Pontypridd
- Port Talbot
- Basildon
- Birkenhead
- Grimsby
- Rotherham
Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk? Contact us below.
Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
