Unrivalled contest to showcase island culture

THREE months of hard work to secure a multi-million-pound boost for Bute has begun as Britain’s new Prime Minister endorses the programme to promote communities.
Bute has been shortlisted as the UK Town of Culture for 2028 and stands to secure a significant investment from the UK Government if its application is successful.
Bute is the only island bid, and award panellists say it meets the criteria for a small town.
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who has just been confirmed as continuing in her role by Andy Burnham, said: “We are a proud island nation and the Isle of Bute deserves to have its voice heard loud and clear.”
The Rothesay Pavilion has been awarded £60,000 to lead the application bid to get the island through to the next round. At that stage, there will be a winner named in each of three categories – small, medium and large towns.
At that point, one of those three winners will be named the overall UK Town of Culture for 2028 and receive an award of £3m to deliver its high-profile programme of cultural events for the year. The other two will receive £250,000 each to put on part of their bid programme.
Over the coming three months, each of the UK’s 15 shortlisted towns will have to create a detailed application to explain how they would use culture to celebrate their town, showcase original storytelling, empower their local communities and provide more accessible culture in their area.
There is no precedent for this competition. It is an inaugural, brand-new event launched by the UK Government to celebrate smaller communities across the land.
As such, it gives applicants an opportunity to show how well they know their communities and what makes up their cultural strands.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she is keen to see how applications will help encourage increased local investment, create a lasting sense of pride, and open doors to the arts and culture for everyone.
Further guidance for shortlisted towns to prepare their full bids for the final stage of the competition will be made available shortly.