The winning bid for the 2025 City of Culture was announced live this evening by Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, on BBC’s One Show.
There were four locations bidding to become the City of Culture in 2025, Wrexham County Borough, Bradford, County Durham and Southampton.
Bradford were announced as the winners, with £125,000 going to each of the three shortlisted cities. It’s thought winning the bid could result in £700m being brought into the city.
Island connection
Last summer the Isle of Wight council agreed to be a significant partner for Southampton’s UK City of Culture bid. If the city had won the bid the Island would have benefitted. In October Southampton were announced as making the short-list.
The Isle of Wight council has been working closely with Southampton as part of the bid, so the news is obviously disappointing for all involved.
Jones-Evans: Southampton did themselves proud
The Cabinet member for Regeneration, Business Development and Tourism, Cllr Jones-Evans told News OnTheWight,
“Congratulations to Bradford! Southampton did themselves proud.”
Jones-Evans: Connections will be built upon
Cllr Jones-Evans added,
“The connections won’t be lost, but built upon.
“The Solent family can be proud of the bid and the breadth and depth of Culture that’s been revealed.
“Tourism is going to be big focus for us now.”
You can watch the announcement on BBC iPlayer (about 20 mins into the programme).
Image: © BBC
