UK City of Culture: the countdown to 2029
Perspectives from IPM Member, Brendan Moffett FRSA MBA FICM FIPM
Since its launch in 2009, UK City of Culture (UKCC) has become one of the UK’s most influential - and contested - cultural policy interventions. It has demonstrated the power of culture to reshape narratives, unlock civic confidence and reposition places nationally and internationally. At the same time, it has exposed persistent tensions around governance, finance and the challenge of sustaining momentum once the spotlight moves on.
For those of us previously involved in bidding, UKCC can be transformative even without winning. When I worked on the Sheffield bid for the 2016 title, the most enduring legacy was not the outcome, but the process itself.
Bidding brought artists, cultural organisations, civic leaders, universities and communities together at a scale not previously seen. It forced difficult but necessary conversations about identity, ambition and who culture is really for. The place brand and identity developed during that period has endured.
That experience - echoed by subsequent host cities - reinforced a core truth: stakeholder engagement is not a bolt-on; it is fundamental. Bidding can align a place around a shared cultural narrative, but sustaining that alignment requires infrastructure, trust and time.
With Expressions of Interest due in early February 2026 and a longlist expected in March, the next round of bids for the 2029 title offers a timely opportunity to take stock - not just of previous hosts and future bidders, but of what the programme has genuinely changed, and what it has revealed about culture as a tool for placemaking.
A mixed but meaningful legacy
The early UKCC hosts offer important lessons.
In Derry~Londonderry (2013), culture was deployed as a mechanism for healing and confidence-building in a post-conflict context. The year successfully reframed external perceptions and created a powerful shared civic moment. While the physical and economic legacies were limited, the symbolic impact was profound - and symbolism matters deeply in places long shaped by division.
Hull (2017) marked a step change. UKCC 2017 demonstrated its potential not just to stage events, but to alter how a place saw itself. The year is rightly cited for measurable increases in cultural participation, visitor numbers and civic pride. More significantly, it shifted Hull’s narrative - internally and externally - from neglect to creativity and possibility. I was privileged to see this at close quarters through my involvement with marketing agency partner Jaywing.
Coventry (2021) inherited this heightened ambition but faced an unprecedented challenge. Delivering a major cultural programme through a pandemic demanded agility, invention and resilience. Coventry’s socially engaged and inclusive programming was widely praised, while also surfacing difficult questions about delivery models, financial resilience and the long-term implications of emergency funding.
Bradford 2025
Bradford’s UK City of Culture year in 2025 represents the most recent - and arguably most closely scrutinised - evolution of the programme. Viewed through the lens of the Institute of Place Management, Steve Millington has argued that Bradford matters not simply as a cultural programme, but as a test of whether UKCC has matured into a genuinely long-term place intervention.
Bradford’s significance lies in its context: a young, diverse population, deep-rooted cultural assets and long-standing structural challenges. From this perspective, the year has been less about spectacle and more about whether culture can be embedded into everyday civic life - neighbourhoods, participation and institutions - rather than concentrated in flagship moments or city-centre venues.
Bradford reinforces a growing consensus among placemaking professionals: UK City of Culture is no longer just about what happens during the year itself, but about whether places are financially, politically and organisationally equipped to carry the work forward once the designation ends.
The central lesson is clear. UK City of Culture works best when treated not as a twelve-month initiative, but as a long-term civic project.
Culture as place identity, not place dressing
Successful host cities do not simply stage programmes; they instigate new conversations, build confidence among residents, raise expectations of what their place can be, and create external narratives that endure long after the banners come down.
For placemaking professionals, culture is one of the few tools capable of operating simultaneously across economic development, social cohesion and place identity. But it only delivers lasting value when embedded within wider strategies for regeneration, education, skills and civic leadership.
Looking ahead: the next generation of bidders
A number of places have now declared their intention to bid for UK City of Culture 2029 or are widely expected to submit Expressions of Interest.
Portsmouth, Ipswich and Bristol each bring distinct propositions. Portsmouth’s maritime heritage offers a strong foundation, though any bid will need to show how culture can broaden the city’s story beyond the dockyard. Ipswich’s scale may allow for focus and coherence, but it will need a compelling national narrative and confidence in delivery. Bristol — already enjoying a strong global cultural reputation - raises a familiar question: should UK City of Culture amplify places that are already culturally confident, or prioritise those where the impact could be more transformational?
Further west, Plymouth has declared its intent to bid, positioning culture at the heart of post-pandemic renewal and future identity. In Wales, Wrexham is also preparing a bid, building on heightened visibility and growing civic confidence.
What is striking is the current absence of declared bidders from the North of England (perhaps there’s a feeling that post Bradford it will head south) - a region that has arguably benefited most clearly from the programme to date. Whether this reflects capacity pressures, funding realities or strategic caution remains to be seen, but it raises important questions about equity, access and readiness in future rounds.
As ever, the strongest bids are unlikely to be the loudest. They will be those that understand what culture can unlock - not just what it can showcase.
About the author
Formed in 2006, the Institute of Place Management is the international professional body that supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better.