Ulverston Town Council’s UK Town of Culture 2028 bid outcome

The official shortlist for Town of Culture 2028 has been announced and unfortunately Ulverston was not in the final 15 shortlist this time. We felt it was very important for the town to put our bid in though, you have to be in it to win it!

Competition was fierce, and it attracted almost 400 Expressions of Interest from towns across the country.

From those applications, judges selected five large towns, five medium towns and five small towns to progress to the next stage.

The shortlisted large towns are :

Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby, Rotherham and South Shields.

The shortlisted medium towns are:

Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd and Port Talbot.

The shortlisted small towns are:

Ilfracombe, the Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown and Strabane.

Each of the 15 shortlisted towns will now receive £60,000 to develop a full bid before one overall winner is selected to become the UK’s Town of Culture 2028.

We would like to say a big thank you to all of the organisations, groups, festivals and individuals who came together to help us shape our Expression of Interest.

We congratulate the shortlisted towns and wish them every success in the next stage of the competition. Ulverston Town Council looks forward to seeing the Town of Culture programme celebrate communities across the country, while Ulverston continues writing the next chapter of its own cultural story.

We’re more committed than ever to celebrating the towns heritage, culture, supporting our creative communities, and creating opportunities for residents and visitors alike.