Lisa Nandy has backed the UK town of culture shortlist, with 15 places chosen on Thursday for the first competition. The list turns a crowded field into a tighter contest: each place now gets £60,000 to build a full bid, and only three winners will move on to the final stage.
15 places, three brackets
The shortlist was drawn from almost 400 applications, a scale that left little room for sentiment. Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham are among the bigger places in the running, while Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd and Port Talbot sit in the middle group. Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane and Stockton Town Centre Ward make up the smaller places.
That split follows the competition rules: small places have under 20,000 people, medium places have 20,000-75,000, and large places have over 75,000. The structure matters because the judging is not just picking one winner from a single list; it is judging across three size bands, with one best small, medium and large place to be named early next year.
Lisa Nandy and Sir Phil Redmond
Lisa Nandy congratulated the shortlisted places and said, “The fact that we received so many applications just goes to show how proud people are of their towns,”. She also said, “When I launched this competition, I wanted to shine a light on our amazing towns all across the UK and the huge contribution they make to our national life.”
Sir Phil Redmond called the response “overwhelming” and “quite literally from all four corners of the UK”. He added: “It has been fantastic that nearly 400 towns have come forward, sharing their sense of pride, ambition and desire to demonstrate how much they have, and continue to contribute to our national story.”
£60,000 before the final bid
Each shortlisted place now receives £60,000 to develop a full bid, which is the first cash step in a contest that is still far from settled. Two runners up will receive £250,000 each to carry out part of their programme, but the overall prize is much larger: the eventual winner will be crowned UK Town of Culture 2028 and receive a £3 million grant to host cultural events.
That makes the shortlist both a reward and a filter. Fifteen places have made the cut, but only three winners will be chosen early next year, and only one of them will walk away with the £3 million prize. The competition also runs alongside UK City of Culture 2029, so this is not a one-off gesture; it is being set up as part of a wider cultural calendar for the UK.
For the shortlisted places, the practical task is immediate: use the £60,000 well, sharpen the bid, and make a case that can survive a second round of judging. The real contest starts now.
