20,000 support Blackpool's bid to be UK City of Culture 2029

Blackpool’s bid to be named UK City of Culture 2029 has been supported by 20,000 people so far.

It comes as the town formally submits its bid to the government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport for the prestigious accolade.

If successful, Blackpool would receive £10m from the government towards a year-long celebration of arts and culture, to be enjoyed by local people as well as increasing the tourism economy. As well as the grant, the title of City of Culture also brings additional funding, sponsorship and investment to support regeneration and events.

The bid has been backed by local, national and internationally recognised artists, businesses, performers, political leaders and celebrities, all asking the government to bring the accolade to Blackpool.

Successful local celebrities including the Pet Shop Boys’ Chris Lowe, punk star John Robb, explorer and author Jordan Wylie MBE and Blackpool’s most famous British export, Sooty, joined Blackpool fans such as Stephen Mulhern, Toyah Wilcox, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Laurence Llewellyn Bowen to throw their support behind the bid.

Blackpool Council has worked closely with local cultural organisations and creatives, including Creative Blackpool, LeftCoast, Aunty Social, House of Wingz, Bootleg Social, The Old Electric, Abingdon Studios and Blackpool and the Fylde College to develop the incredible programme of events and projects presented in the bid. Over the last few months, those conversations have opened up amazing ideas about how to accelerate Blackpool’s cultural future, shaped both from within the town and through a wide network of regional and national partners, including Factory International, Opera North and Marlborough Productions.

The bid will see exciting new projects with national and internationally renowned names such as; Jack Holden, Chila Kumari Singh Burman and Blackpool-based Garth Gratrix. Support from across the Fylde Coast and the county has strengthened programmes even further thanks to the backing of Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire Combined County Authority and Business in the Community.

The broad initial scope of the bid focusses on Blackpool’s unique status as the original mass market seaside resort and where the UK comes to play building on a history of culture in all its forms.

Blackpool, the world’s first mass seaside resort created for the working-classes, has always led the way through invention, creativity and the radical idea that culture and joy should belong to everyone.

Should the bid be successful, it would include four distinctive public propositions with sustained participation, learning, health, skills, sector development and infrastructure:

• We’ll Show You will present Blackpool’s culture at its most ambitious-from major performance and immersive spectacle to dance, music, broadcasting and artist-led interventions
• The Welcome Inn will build on Blackpool’s traditions of hospitality, exchange and shared enjoyment
• Sea Change will connect culture with care for people, communities and the environment
• It’s Like Blackpool Illuminations in Here! will use the 150th anniversary of the Illuminations to connect local participation with international artistic and technological innovation

Each proposition will include large scale events, as well as works in the community, with local schools and community groups to leave a lasting legacy that extends beyond 2029.

Everybody is still encouraged to visit www.blackpool2029.co.uk to show their support to back the bid.

Blackpool’s connection with culture

Blackpool’s relationship with culture is full of variety. From Showtown Museum exploring the history of the iconic seaside resort, to the contemporary Grundy Art Gallery breaking visitor records during the visit of a Monet earlier this year.

In entertainment, Blackpool’s Winter Gardens has hosted the Royal Variety Performance three times in its history (1955, 2009 and 2020) and continues to host events ranging from West End musicals to World Dance Festivals. The town itself has been home to musical performances from The Beatles and Frank Sinatra, while also being the home of Sooty.

In 2029, the world-famous Blackpool Illuminations will also celebrate 150 years of entertaining locals and visitors, as part of the world’s oldest free light show. Pre-dating Thomas Edison’s patent of the lightbulb, the Illuminations continue to entertainment millions of people every year, while also being a major part of modern British culture with the saying ‘It’s like Blackpool Illuminations in here.’

Following the submission of the bid, the final four shortlisted places will be announced in the autumn, with a final winner selected in the new year.

The prestigious national competition is led by the government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and runs every four years. The competition is open to cities, large towns and regions.

While not technically a city, Blackpool is the 45th largest place in the UK, with the Fylde coast home to over 250,000 people, which meets the bidding criteria.

Bradford was named City of Culture for 2025, with previous winners being Derry/Londonderry (2013), Hull (2017) and Coventry (2021).