UK Town Of Culture Shortlist Unveiled

• Shortlisted towns set to receive £60,000 to work on their full bids with the winner announced early next year
• Shortlist selected from almost 400 applications

Fifteen towns have been shortlisted to become the UK's first Town of Culture, after nearly 400 places from across the country entered the landmark competition.

This comes as the government confirmed that it has received an incredible 398 bids from over 400 hopeful towns as part of the competition, demonstrating that culture belongs everywhere and shining a light on the many towns across the UK that are vital to our national story.

Fifteen towns will now compete for the inaugural UK Town of Culture 2028 title. The shortlisted towns are:

• Small towns: Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane, and Stockton Town Centre Ward
• Medium towns: Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd, and Port Talbot
• Large towns: Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham

Shortlisted towns will now receive £60,000 each to develop their full bids, which will be assessed by the independent judging panel. One finalist will then be selected from each category with the overall winner being announced early next year.

The UK Town of Culture competition is part of the government's ambition to restore pride in local areas in every part of Britain and deliver a decade of national renewal, following the announcement of the Pride in Place Programme last year. Throughout this year, this competition - together with the UK City of Culture 2029 competition - will continue to shine a light on local visions and voices from across the UK to help encourage increased local investment, create a lasting sense of pride, and open doors to the arts and culture for everyone.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said:

I want to say a massive congratulations to the fifteen shortlisted towns and I wish them luck in the next round of the competition.

The fact that we received so many applications just goes to show how proud people are of their towns. When I launched this competition, I wanted to shine a light on our amazing towns all across the UK and the huge contribution they make to our national life.

I am so glad that so many towns have applied and I hope each and every town, whether they have been shortlisted or not, is incredibly proud of the work they have done to champion their local community.

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said

Congratulations to Port Talbot and Pontypridd on being shortlisted for the UK's Town of Culture. Both places have a rich heritage that should be celebrated - and I am so pleased to see them get the recognition they deserve.

Port Talbot is renowned for producing some of the greatest actors in the country, all of whom have been inspired by the industrial heritage of the area. Pontypridd is the home of the composers of the Welsh National Anthem, which has been proudly sung at national events for many decades.

I would love to see a Welsh town be crowned the UK's Town of Culture and I wish both of them every success with their bids.

Kirsty McNeill, UK Government Minister for Scotland said:

Scotland has an extraordinary cultural heritage, and the presence of three Scottish towns on the UK Town of Culture competition shortlist is a testament to the richness and diversity of communities across the country.

From island life to historic port towns, each of these places has a unique story to tell, and I know that each bid reflects the genuine passion and pride that local people have for where they live.

The UK Government is committed to ensuring that culture belongs everywhere, and I'm delighted that Scottish towns are so strongly represented.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said:

Congratulations to Strabane, which has secured a place in the final UK Town of Culture shortlist, from among 400 applicants.

I know that Strabane will take this opportunity to shine, and I wish the town good luck as they finalise their bid.

The shortlisted towns were recommended by the independent panel chaired by Sir Phil Redmond. The other members of the panel were selected to ensure a broad range of cultural experience and regional diversity. The panel members are:

• Sir Phil Redmond (Chair)
• Ruth Hollis OBE (Deputy Chair)
• Ian Bancroft (Wales Representative)
• Kristel Miller (Northern Ireland Representative)
• Katy Shaw
• Jim Tough (Scotland Representative)
• Adipat Virdi
• Ian Warren (England Representative)
• Paula Williams

Chair of the independent panel, Sir Phil Redmond said:

The response to the competition has been, to say the least, overwhelming, quite literally from all four corners of the UK. It has been fantastic that nearly 400 towns have come forward, sharing their sense of pride, ambition and desire to demonstrate how much they have, and continue to contribute to our national story.

That of course has made making the decision on the shortlist itself much more difficult, never mind the actual winners.

I look forward to visiting those towns that have made the list and I am sure that, just like City of Culture, those that didn't manage it will have found the experience of taking part worthwhile in strengthening partnerships, raising awareness and reminding us all of the depth and spread of the UK's cultural landscape. I'd like to thank them all for that.

The shortlisted places will now work to finalise their bids, which will explain how they would use culture to celebrate their town, showcase original storytelling, empower their local communities and provide more accessible culture in their local area.

From these fifteen shortlisted towns, the independent panel will recommend the best small, medium and large town from the full applications they receive. An overall winner from these three towns will be designated the "UK Town of Culture 2028" and receive a £3 million grant from the government. The additional two towns, from the other two categories, will be selected as finalists and receive £250,000 each to carry out part of their programme.

The winner will go on to host a season of culture in 2028, which will help them to deliver a long-lasting legacy of cultural participation and local pride as has been seen in previous winners of the UK City of Culture competition; Derry-Londonderry 2013, Hull 2017, Coventry 2021 and Bradford 2025.

The government's ambition behind the UK Town of Culture competition is for towns to reap similar benefits from the experience of bidding and encouraging local residents to get involved in cultural events to celebrate their town.

The benefits of cultural investment are clear. Previous UK City of Culture holders - Derry-Londonderry, Hull and Coventry - have attracted more than £1 billion in additional investment and welcomed an estimated 2 million visitors, while recent audience research from Bradford 2025 shows more than 80 per cent of attendees felt events increased their pride in the place they live.

Investment in UK City of Culture and UK Town of Culture not only supports the delivery of exciting cultural programmes but brings a legacy of cultural regeneration. These programmes will help to attract more visitors to places for years to come as well as encouraging creativity and skills development across local areas, growing the local economy and providing more opportunities for local people to engage with arts and culture.

In order to recognise all the towns that have bid in the first-ever UK Town of Culture competition, every bidding town was invited to submit a postcard to celebrate their bid. Last week these postcards were shared across social media and showcased by National Museums Liverpool in a digital display to celebrate each and every town that has participated in the competition. The postcards will remain within the National Museums Liverpool's national collection.

Further guidance for shortlisted towns to prepare their full bids for the final stage of the competition will be made available shortly.

Notes:

Full list of bids (*marks shortlisted bids):

Small

East Midlands

Ashby de la Zouch

Bolsover

Clay Cross

Darley Dale

Horncastle and Spilsby

Kimberley

Louth

Matlock

Melbourne

Oakham

Oundle

Rothwell

Sleaford

Southwell

Uppingham

Wirksworth

East of England

Ampthill

Aylsham

Fakenham

Newmarket

North Walsham

Rochford

Saffron Walden

Sheringham and Cromer

St Ives

Tring

Ware

Wells-next-the-sea

North East

Alnwick

Amble

Barnard Castle

Bedlington

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Hexham

Peterlee

Shildon

Stockton Town Centre Ward*

North West

Appleby

Barnoldswick

Cleveley

Colne

Garstang

Kirkby Lonsdale

Knutsford

Lymm

Lytham

Maryport

Mossley

New Brighton

Penrith

Prescot

Ulverston

Northern Ireland

Enniskillen

Larne

Limavady

Strabane*

Scotland

Crieff and Strathearn

Dalkeith

Dunbar

Galashiels

Haddington

Isle of Bute*

Keith

Kirkcudbright

Lerwick*

North Berwick

Penicuik

Pitlochry

Selkirk

Stornoway, Isle of Lewis

Stranraer

Whithorn Trust

Wigtown

South East

Beaconsfield

Burford

Carterton

Cranbrook

Dorking

East Cowes

Emsworth

Fordingbridge

Haslemere

Henley on Thames

Kidlington

Lewes

Lymington and Pennington

Midhurst and Easebourne

Newhaven

Newport Pagnell

Petworth

Rye

Sandown*

Shanklin

Stony Stratford

Swanley

Tenterden

Thame

Ventnor

Wallingford

Watlington

West Malling

Westerham

South West

Amesbury

Ashburton and Buckfastleigh

Bideford

Bodmin

Bradford on Avon

Bruton

Corsham

Dartmouth

Devizes

Emersons Green

Filton

Fowey

Glastonbury

Great Torrington

Hatherleigh

Helston

Highworth

Ilfracombe*

Marazion

Nailsea and Wraxall

Nailsworth

Newent

Ottery St Mary

Penzance

Portland

Redruth

Shaftesbury

Shepton Mallet

Sherborne

Sidmouth

Stroud

Swanage and Isle of Purbeck

Tavistock

Teignmouth

Tetbury

Tewkesbury

Thornbury

Torpoint and The Rame Peninsula

Warminster

Watchet

Wells

Westbury

Wimborne

Wales

Abergavenny

Abertillery

Bangor

Blaenavon

Brecon

Caerleon

Caernarfon

Cardigan

Crickhowell

Ffestiniog

Hay-on-Wye

Holyhead

Holywell

Llandrindod Wells

Llangollen

Machynlleth

Mold

Monmouth

Mumbles

Narberth

Oswestry

Pembroke

Presteigne and Norton

Tref-y-Clawdd/Knighton

West Midlands

Atherstone

Bishop's Castle

Bridgnorth

Broseley

Coleshill

Henley-in-Arden

Ledbury

Leek

Leominster

Ludlow

Market Drayton

Ross-on-Wye

Yorkshire and the Humber

Bawtry

Conisbrough

Driffield

Guiseley

Heckmondwike

Helmsley

Ilkley

Kirkham

Knaresborough

Malton and Norton

Mexborough

Mirfield

Otley

Pickering

Pocklington

Richmond, North Yorkshire

Ripon

Selby

Settle

Wetherby

Whitby

Yeadon

Medium

East Midlands

Alfreton, Heanor and Ripley

Beeston

Belper

Boston

Buxton

Coalville

Corby*

Grantham

Hinckley

Kettering

Loughborough

Market Harborough

Melton Mowbray

Newark

Retford

Skegness

Spalding

Stamford

Sutton in Ashfield

Swadlincote

Wellingborough

West Bridgford

East of England

Bishop's Stortford

Bury St Edmunds

Felixstowe

Great Yarmouth*

Hertford

Hitchin

Huntingdon

Leigh-on-Sea

Letchworth Garden City

Lowestoft

Maldon

St Neots

Stowmarket

Sudbury

Thetford

Waveney Valley

Witham

North East

Ashington

Bishop Auckland

Blyth

Cramlington

Jarrow

North Shields

Redcar

Seaham

Stanley

North West

Accrington

Barrow-in-Furness

Bootle

Chorley

Congleton

Crewe

Fleetwood

Kendal

Leigh

Leyland

Macclesfield

Morecambe

Northwich

Rawtenstall

St Anne's on Sea

Stretford

Widnes

Workington

Northern Ireland

Antrim

Scotland

Ayr

Cumbernauld

Dumfries

Greenock

Kilmarnock

Kirkcaldy

Leith*

Livingston

Paisley and Renfrew

South East

Abingdon-on-Thames

Aylesbury

Banbury

Bexhill

Bognor Regis

Chesham

Dartford

Deal

Dover

East Grinstead

Eastleigh

Elstree and Borehamwood

Fareham

Farnham

Faversham

Folkestone

Godalming

Guildford

Hoddesdon

Littlehampton

Margate

Newbury

Newport, Isle of Wight

Royal Tunbridge Wells

Ryde

Seaford

Totton and Eling

Winchester

Woodley

South West

Barnstaple

Bridgwater

Cirencester

Clevedon

Exmouth

Falmouth and Penryn

Frome

Malmesbury

Newquay

Salisbury

Taunton

Weymouth

Yeovil

Wales

Aberystwyth

Barry

Caerphilly

Cwmbrân

Merthyr Tydfil

Pontypridd*

Port Talbot*

West Midlands

Burntwood

Royal Leamington Spa

Longton

Droitwich Spa

Warwick

Halesowen

Evesham

Bilston

Brierley Hill

Stratford-upon-Avon

Dudley

Smethwick

Malvern

Stourbridge

Stafford

Yorkshire and the Humber

Batley

Beverley

Scarborough

Castleford

Holmfirth

Keighley

Bridlington

Large

East Midlands

Chesterfield

Mansfield

Northampton

East of England

Basildon*

Bedford

Harlow

Stevenage

Welwyn

North East

Gateshead

Hartlepool

North West

Birkenhead*

Blackburn

Burnley

Bury

Rochdale

St Helens

Stockport

South East

Andover

Basingstoke and Deane

Chatham

Crawley

Eastbourne

Hastings

Hemel Hempstead

High Wycombe

Northfleet and Gravesend

Sittingbourne and Sheppey

Slough

Thurrock Riverside

South West

Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole

Kingswood

Weston-super-Mare

West Midlands

Burton upon Trent

Newcastle under Lyme

Nuneaton

Redditch

Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield

Rugby

Shrewsbury

Tamworth

Telford

Yorkshire and the Humber

Barnsley

Grimsby*

Halifax

Harrogate

Huddersfield

Rotherham*

Scunthorpe