Herefordshire launches 'county-wide' bid to be crowned UK City of Culture 2029
Herefordshire Council has co-ordinated the approach which will see it enter its initial expression of interest to the Government
A 'unique' county-wide proposal has been put forward by Herefordshire in an attempt to win the UK City of Culture 2029 competition.
Co-ordinated by Herefordshire Council, the bid sets out Herefordshire as ‘A Living Borderland’, which the authority states is a "rural vision shaped by the county’s landscapes, communities and shared identity, showing how culture can thrive in every part of the county".
Its submitting the initial expression of interest to the Government ahead of Sunday's deadline (8 February) as the Department for Culture, Media & Sport(DCMS) said it was "open to cities, towns, regions and groups of places", and will now wait to see if it makes the longlist of up to eight places.
Damian Etheraads is the head of culture, museums, libraries and archives for Herefordshire Council, he labelled the process as a "hugely exciting opportunity" with the winner set to receive £10m to deliver a cultural programme for the year.
"We've come together as a county through Herefordshire Cultural Partnership, Herefordshire Council and a whole range of other creative bodies, partners and businesses to put together a bid of Herefordshire as a living borderland for the UK City of Culture 2029 competition," he said.
"This is a great opportunity for us to showcase what rural culture is like in the UK today and show Herefordshire as the leader that it is and producer of national and international work which is shown all around the world and nationally across the UK.
"Our vision is very bold, it draws on that rural nature of our county, the way people live not in large cities or settlements, but out and around the countryside."
DCMS intends to announce the longlist of places that will proceed to the next stage of the competition in late March 2026.