It's Plymouth's day on social media as City of Culture 2017 bid is submitted

Plymouth was buzzing on social media today amid huge local support for the city's bid for City of Culture 2017.

The hashtag #Plymouth2017 trended nationally on Twitter at lunchtime today (Tuesday 30 April) due to the number of users tweeting and re-tweeting their support for the bid which was submitted today.

This evening sees Smeaton's Tower illuminated as a beacon for Plymouth's bid - an accolade which, if successful, would bring significant cultural and economic benefits to the city in 2017 as well as boosting considerably its national profile.

A large number of local organisations, businesses and individuals expressed their support via Twitter and through Facebook in a day of optimism and excitement for the city. The Plymouth Daily added its support.

The initial bid was submitted today alongside 10 rival cities across the UK. There follows an anxious wait until June while a panel of judges considers and finally shortlists four cities to go forward to a full and final bidding process for the title 'City of Culture 2017', with the winner due to be announced in November.

The other cities due to submit bids are Aberdeen, Chester, Dundee, East Kent (covering Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone and Thanet), Hastings and Bexhill on Sea, Hull, Leicester, Portsmouth and Southampton, Southend on Sea and finally Swansea Bay (covering Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Neath, and Port Talbot).

Plymouth's bid team led by its Chair (and Chief Executive of the Theatre Royal), Adrian Vinken OBE, has been working on the initial 30-page vision document since January. The bid, supported by Plymouth City Council, has sparked a vibrant campaign across the city and via social media to encourage Plymouth people, organisations, businesses and celebrities such as home grown Olympian, Tom Daley to 'back the bid'.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport runs the bidding process and sets the following criteria for cities wishing to be considered:

be distinctive, ambitious, and represent your local area
demonstrate cultural excellence
show innovation that will attract and entertain a huge range of audiences
be realistic and deliverable

The eventual winner will be helped by the organisations supporting the UK City of Culture programme to develop, attract and host high-profile events and initiatives in 2017. These might include award ceremonies such as the Brits, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year or the Turner Prize, conferences, radio and television programmes and other specific cultural events and activities.

Additionally, the UK is currently scheduled to hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2017. Therefore there is potential (though no guarantees) for events associated with the Presidency to be hosted in the UK City of Culture.

You can follow and support the official bid on Twitter @Plymouth2017 and via the Facebook page