Plymouth presses ahead with cultural agenda despite City of Culture setback

Plymouth is pressing ahead with its ambitious plans to transform its standing as a cultural location and destination, following today’s City of Culture 2017 competition announcement, says the City Council.

Amid stiff competition and a city-wide campaign of support with thousands backing Plymouth’s bid, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport today said that Plymouth would not be on the shortlist.

Adrian Vinken OBE, Theatre Royal Chief Executive and Chair of the Plymouth Culture Board said: “Clearly we are disappointed that the UK City of Culture panel has not recognised Plymouth’s potential on this occasion, however we continue to recognise the value of the competition and we remain fully committed to developing Plymouth’s cultural agenda.

"It was a closely fought competition in which we have learned a lot and made many new friends. On behalf of the Plymouth City of Culture team I would like to thank everyone who has supported our bid and to wish the shortlisted cities every success with the next stage and the work ahead.”

Leader of Plymouth City Council, Councillor Tudor Evans, commented: “It is a real shame that the City of Culture judges have failed to recognise what a wonderful city we have, but we will now move on to bigger things.

"Plymouth is an ambitious, growing city with a vibrant cultural life and our plans for the Mayflower 2020 celebrations are already well underway. We will still deliver a fantastic programme of events and engage our communities in exciting cultural activities so we will press on and capitalise on the support we’ve received during the bidding process.”

Professor David Coslett, Plymouth University Deputy Vice-Chancellor added: “What struck us most throughout the process was the positive energy and enthusiasm of our community as people from all ages and walks of life united with one voice

"If this was a competition about which city shouted their support the loudest, we would have won! We will not lose this momentum, rather we will continue to build on it in our commitment to furthering Plymouth’s cultural development and creating a legacy for the whole community.”

A series of consultation meetings to consider the detail of Plymouth’s cultural offering are planned over the coming months, with an ‘Open Space’ public consultation event taking place on the 19 July. This will offer everyone the opportunity to share their views and ideas about the contribution culture makes to the city of Plymouth and the role it should play in the city’s development.