Inverness and Highland region in running for UK City of Culture 2029

Inverness and the wider Highland region has been named among the final candidates to be the UK City of Culture in 2029.

Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Blackpool, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Swindon and Wrexham are on the longlist to follow Bradford in 2025.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the nine contenders will each receive £60,000 to develop full bids.

For the first time, the winner will receive a prize of £10 million to deliver a year of cultural activities, with three others collecting £125,000 for elements of their bid.

Bids from Bristol, Carlisle, Exeter, Herefordshire, Isle of Thanet, Peterborough, Plymouth and Reading missed out.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the competition – and the first Town of Culture in 2028 – “recognise the enormous contributions made by communities all over the UK who are all part of the story of who we are as a nation”.

The longlist was decided by an independent panel chaired by Brookside, Grange Hill and Hollyoaks creator Sir Phil Redmond.

He said the competition used culture as a “creative catalyst for change, raising awareness and changing perceptions”.

“Derry-Londonderry, Hull, Coventry and, more recently, Bradford, have all demonstrated the quality and depth of cultural activity embedded across the UK, as well as the benefits of simply taking part,” he said.

“The competition brings people together, to talk to each other rather than at each other, sharing commonality and tolerating difference. Above all, allowing places to demonstrate their own pride in their places.”

More than 230 towns have registered an interest in bidding to be the UK’s first Town of Culture and Ms Nandy urged more to enter before the deadline at the end of March.

“It’s a chance to show the country what makes them unique and shine a spotlight on their cultural offer, enriching the lives of local people,” she said.