UK names 15 towns shortlisted for inaugural Town of Culture 2028

UK reveals 15 towns shortlisted for the inaugural Town of Culture 2028, highlighting regional creativity, heritage and community ambition.

UK names 15 towns shortlisted for inaugural Town of Culture 2028
Liberal TR Haber Merkezi
Publish: 09.07.2026
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UK government shortlists 15 towns for inaugural Town of Culture 2028

The government has shortlisted 15 towns across the UK for the first UK Town of Culture title, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced on Thursday, and each will receive a £60,000 development grant ahead of the final selection.

The list includes larger places such as Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham, medium-sized towns including Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd and Port Talbot, and smaller communities like Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane and Stockton Town Centre Ward.

Three winners—one each from the small, medium and large categories—will be chosen by an independent panel early next year, with an overall Town of Culture 2028 receiving a £3 million grant to stage cultural events.

The two runners-up will be awarded £250,000 each to support part of their proposed cultural programmes.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy congratulated the shortlisted places and highlighted the volume of applications as evidence of local pride, saying the competition was designed to “shine a light on our amazing towns” and their contributions to national life.

Sir Phil Redmond, chair of the independent judging panel, described the nearly 400 applications as an “overwhelming” response from across the UK, underlining towns’ ambition to showcase storytelling, community empowerment and plans to attract investment and visitors.

The competition, drawn from almost 400 applicants, uses population brackets to define categories: small towns under 20,000 people; medium towns with 20,000–75,000 residents; and large towns of more than 75,000.

The inaugural Town of Culture will run alongside the UK City of Culture 2029 and follows the city competition’s past winners, including Derry-Londonderry (2013), Hull (2017), Coventry (2021) and Bradford (2023).

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Liberal TR Haber Merkezi
Liberal TR Haber Merkezi
A digital news platform delivering developments in Türkiye and the world to its readers with an objective and principled perspective. Liberal TR Haber Merkezi.
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