An Isle of Wight seaside town is entering into the government’s UK Town of Culture competition – with a chance of winning £3.5 million.
Sandown Town Council (STC) unanimously voted to approve the submission of an Expression of Interest for the contest, at its meeting on Monday (26th January 2026).
Small town category
Three finalists from the competition will be chosen – one small, one medium, one large town. The winner will be crowned UK Town of Culture 2028 and receive a £3 million prize.
The two runners-up will each receive £250,000 to deliver elements of their bid, from refreshed community infrastructure to electric music festivals. Longlisted places will be given £60,000 to develop a full bid.
Sandown have advised they will enter the small town category. Newport and Ryde have already said they will be entering the medium town category.
The town’s unique story
STC will act as the accountable body for the bid, providing necessary local authority partnership required by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Three key criteria will be used to judge the competition: a town’s unique story, how it will design a cultural programme for all and then deliver it successfully.
Sandown North councillor Tracy Mikich approached STC, expressing enthusiasm to explore a Sandown bid, Mayor Alex Lightfoot told the Broadway Centre meeting.
He said,
“It’s not where’s got the most established cultural offering, it’s about where the most change can be affected.”
Councillor Debbie Andre asked, “why wouldn’t we want to go for this” and described the contest as a “fantastic opportunity”.
Boyd: A journey of development
Councillor Ian Boyd said,
“This is a journey towards 2028.
“The scheme is looking for a place that wants that journey to be all about development and isn’t just heading to a big party.
“Reaching a plateau – a better state for the town – and then moving on from there through that process of cultural investment.”
Solomon: Our argument has got to be the potential and how badly we need it
Councillor Joan Solomon said,
“Our argument has got to be the potential and how badly we need it.
“Very often when you go for something, if you don’t get it the paperwork you prepared and the arguments you’ve made attract attention and you go off in another direction.”
Mikich: There’s a story that needs a new chapter: not one of extinction, but of evolution
Councillor Mikich told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) after the meeting,
“From the eccentric hat parades of our Regatta to the bizarre mystery of the Sandown Clown, now immortalised in a life-sized statue gifted to the town by the Xanadu Collective, Sandown is a town of resilience, camaraderie, and imagination.
“Perhaps most poignantly, it was here that Charles Darwin began On the Origin of Species, writing from a hotel that now stands derelict.
“Now, there’s a story that needs a new chapter: not one of extinction, but of evolution.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
