City of Culture 2029: Is your city on the shortlist?
Blackpool, Ipswich and Milton Keynes have made the shortlist, along with six other cities
- Published
The nine cities in the running to become the UK's City of Culture 2029 have been revealed - but is yours on the list?
Blackpool, Inverness-Highland, Ipswich, Middlesbrough and Milton Keynes have all made the shortlist, along with Portsmouth, Sheffield, Swindon and Wrexham.
The UK City of Culture competition is run by the government and takes place every four years to celebrate the "enormous contributions" made by communities across the UK.
The winning city, which will be announced later this year, will take the title from Bradford, the UK's City of Culture 2025, with other previous winners including Coventry in 2021 and Hull in 2017.
The city which is awarded the special status will also receive £10,000,000 to put towards a year's worth of events and activities that celebrate its culture, creativity and the arts.
Sir Phil Redmond, who was one of the experts that helped choose the cities on the shortlist, said that the competition "brings people together" and encourages places to "demonstrate their own pride".
It can also help to boost tourism and create opportunities for local people.
Is your city on the list? Let us know what you think of where you live in the comments below.
- Published31 October 2025
- Published1 June 2022
- Published8 July 2025
