Exeter's cultural partnership will continue to grow despite bid setback
Published: 8 October 2021
Exeter's Cultural Partnership will continue to grow despite being unsuccessful in its joint bid with Torbay to become UK City of Culture, leaders in the city have stressed.
Cllr Amal Ghusain, Exeter City Council’s Lead Councillor for Culture and Communities, said there were many positives to come out of the bid.
She said: “The process of coming together with partners in Torbay, Devon and Teignbridge has itself been a hugely useful process. This will no doubt galvanise county wide partnerships and create a foundation on which exciting plans can be implemented. This will benefit residents, visitors, artists and businesses alike.”
The comments follow confirmation that the bid was not included on the government’s ‘longlist’ of cities being considered for the UK City of Culture in accolade.
Exeter and Torbay - two UNESCO designated areas - teamed up in the summer in a bid to provide significant financial, social, and cultural benefits to the region.
Read more: Torbay and Exeter launch bid to become City of Culture 2025
Dom Jinks, The University of Exeter’s Impact Manager – Creative Places, said the bid would act as a 'springboard' for more cultural activity in the city.
He said: “ We have so many residents and commuters that love both places and there is so much to offer. Both places have great ambitions around culture. We’ll use this experience as a springboard to new cultural activity – official city of culture or not.”
The UK City of Culture is a designation given to a city in the United Kingdom for a period of one year. The aim of the initiative, which is administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is to build on the success of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture 2008, which had significant social and economic benefits for the area.
The inaugural holder of the award was Derry in 2013. In 2017 Kingston upon Hull took over the title before Coventry hosted in 2021.