Pontypridd, Birkenhead and Isle of Bute shortlisted for first UK Town of Culture

Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham are among the bigger places in the running for the title of the UK’s first Town of Culture.

The 15-strong shortlist, released on Thursday by the government’s department for Culture, Media and Sport (CMS), also includes the medium-sized Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd, and Port Talbot.

Smaller places such as Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane, and Stockton Town Centre Ward round off the list.

Each place will now receive a £60,000 funding boost to develop a full bid and then three winners – best small, medium and large place – will be chosen by an independent judging panel early next year.

An overall winner from these three finalists then will be crowned the UK Town of Culture 2028 and receive a £3 million grant to host cultural events.

The two runners up will receive £250,000 each to carry out part of their programme.

The UK Town of Culture categorises towns into three specific population brackets: small towns (under 20,000), medium towns (20,000-75,000), and large towns (over 75,000).

The new competition – which has seen 15 places selected from almost 400 applications – will run alongside the UK City of Culture 2029.