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A selection of towns across the UK, including Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby, and Rotherham, are competing for the distinction of becoming the country’s first Town of Culture. The government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) revealed a shortlist of 15 places on Thursday, which features a range of locations from larger towns to smaller communities.
Alongside the bigger contenders, medium-sized towns such as Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd, and Port Talbot have also been named. Smaller towns completing the list include Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane, and Stockton Town Centre Ward. Each shortlisted town will receive a £60,000 grant to help develop their full bid. From these, three winners—representing the best small, medium, and large towns—will be chosen next year by an independent judging panel.
The winning towns in each category will advance to the final round, where one overall winner will be awarded the title UK Town of Culture 2028. This winner will receive a £3 million fund to host cultural events, while the two runners-up will be granted £250,000 each to implement aspects of their proposed cultural programmes. The competition defines towns by population size: small towns have fewer than 20,000 residents, medium towns have between 20,000 and 75,000, and large towns have more than 75,000 inhabitants. This new initiative runs alongside the UK City of Culture 2029 competition.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy praised the shortlisted towns and expressed optimism for their future bids. She remarked, “The fact that we received so many applications just goes to show how proud people are of their towns.” Nandy added that the competition aims to highlight the important cultural contributions towns make across the UK. Now, each place must demonstrate how culture will be used to celebrate their unique identity, promote local storytelling, empower communities, and attract investment and visitors.
Sir Phil Redmond, chair of the independent judging panel and a writer for Hollyoaks, described the response to the competition as “overwhelming” and coming “quite literally from all four corners of the UK.” He commented on the nearly 400 applications received, highlighting the enthusiasm towns have for showcasing their pride and ambitions while contributing to the broader national narrative.
The towns vying for this inaugural award hope to replicate the success of previous winners from the UK City of Culture competition, such as Derry-Londonderry in 2013, Hull in 2017, Coventry in 2021, and Bradford in 2025, which have benefitted from increased cultural recognition and development
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