BIRKENHEAD SHORTLISTED FOR TOWN OF CULTURE
We are thrilled to announce that Birkenhead has been shortlisted in the first UK Town Of Culture competition! The final shortlist of 15 has been whittled down from 398 entries from across the country, and Birkenhead’s bid will now be further developed with the aim of getting the final nod to deliver a year of culture activity throughout 2028.
The bid was put together by the Birkenhead Culture Partnership – an independent group of artists, collectives, arts organisations and dreamers, convened and led by Future Yard and including Williamson Art Gallery, Big Heritage, Carlton Little Theatre, The Leftbank Collective and many many more – in partnership with Wirral Council. The bid focussed on Birkenhead’s outsider nature, its fierce sense of community, and unabashed pride in being a home for the decidedly weird and wonderful.
From celebrating the town’s often overlooked spirit of innovation, and the glorious example of outsiderdom that is Ron’s Place, to utilising the natural stages of world class assets in Birkenhead Park and the waterfront, the initial programme of activity has been designed to both showcase Birkenhead’s great cultural potential and also enhance its residents’ engagement with culture.
Birkenhead has been shortlisted alongside Basildon, Grimsby and Rotherham, in the large towns category; Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd Port Talbot (medium towns); and Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane and Stockton Town Centre Ward in the small towns category. Each of the shortlisted towns will receive £60,000 to develop their bids further, before final judging takes place at the end of 2026.
Speaking about the news of the shortlisting, MP for Birkenhead Alison McGovern said:
“I am thrilled. And I am extremely proud of every organisation in Birkenhead who got us this far. From the frontline staff in the Williamson to every young person who has treaded the boards in the Carlton Little Theatre or let rip on the stage of Future Yard, you have done us all proud. Now on to the exciting next stage!”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy MP said:
“What I love about Birkenhead is that it has this brilliantly distinct identity. It’s offbeat, inventive, a little notorious – even sitting just across the river from a major city. That confidence in who you are is exactly what we want to celebrate, and I think adding to that through this title could be something really special. I’m very much looking forward to the full bid.”
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. The hope 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.
An independent panel will select one winner from each category, with the overall winner from these three towns designated as the “UK Town of Culture 2028” and will receive a £3 million grant from the government to deliver the programme. 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, and also Liverpool’s 2008 European Capital Of Culture status.