Hull begins 2017 as UK City of Culture with fireworks display
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Every four years, the UK gets a new City of Culture, with 2021 the year of Coventry and the next city taking up the mantle in 2025. Coventry’s year started in May 2021 and will end in May 2022. The title of City of culture brings national and international recognition and immense opportunities for the entire region.
In 2013, Derry/Londonderry became the first UK City of Culture, followed by Hull in 2017.
For the first time, a collection of neighbours have been eligible to apply together, and Great Yarmouth Borough and East Suffolk Councils have taken advantage by filling an expression of interest.
The joint bid is supported by the New Anglia LEP, Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, Norfolk Community Foundation, Norfolk and Suffolk Chambers of Commerce and the area’s three local MPs.
The decision on whether the two councils’ bid is accepted will be announced in September, with the UK City of culture 2025 announced in May 2022.
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The bid is focused on the resort towns of Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and Lowestoft, all three British seaside favourites with visitors.
The bid highlights the importance of the towns to the UK’s renewable energy sector, as well as their thriving creativity, heritage and cultural diversity.
The wider region’s culture and heritage also features, from Aldeburgh and the Suffolk coast to Winterton-on-Sea, the Norfolk Broads and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
A winning bid would showcase the region’s cultural offerings to the world, and the repercussions would be felt positively across Norfolk and Suffolk.
Coventry, the 2021 UK City of Culture, is anticipated to enjoy an economic boost of approximately £211 million and will have welcomed an additional 2.5 million visitors to the region.
If the joint councils win, the coastal region will host a year-long creative programme of events and activities.
Everything from visual arts and literature to performance art such as music, theatre and dance will be showcased.
Combined arts, architecture, crafts and design will also find their places in the programme, should the bid be successful.
In addition, the City of Culture programme will feature the heritage sector, museums, galleries and libraries.
The programme would also include film, broadcasting and media, video games, animation, visual and special effects, photography and publishing, encapsulating as many cultural disciplines as possible.
Both Great Yarmouth and East Suffolk already have a robust cultural programme in place, with live entertainment, maritime and arts festivals, and a newly created summer solstice First Light event.
There are already many historic sites and buildings, wildlife areas and picturesque landscapes that have attracted the film industry.
The bid, if successful, will showcase the region and bring opportunities and change.
The region has been strongly impacted by the pandemic, with Great Yarmouth having been found to be the fourth weakest economy in the country in April 2021.
Resort towns rely heavily on tourism and the past 18 months’ restrictions have hit them hard.
But with their bid for the UK City of Culture 2025, Great Yarmouth and East Suffolk are betting on a better, brighter future and are opening a path for a strong economic recovery.
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