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At the start of this year, the UK government revealed that it would be running a competition for the UK Town of Culture for the very first time. Like the UK City of Culture, the scheme aims to ‘shine a light on our amazing towns all across the UK and the huge contribution they make to our national life’.
Nearly 400 towns from all four corners of the country threw their hat in the ring with bids showcasing why they should claim the grand title in 2028. Now, those entries have been whittled down to a shortlist of 15.
Most of the shortlisted towns are in England but there are also two towns in Wales, three in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland in the running for the final prize. The areas have been split into three categories – small, medium and large towns – and they’ll now receive £60,000 each so that they can fully develop their bids.
One finalist will be chosen from each of the categories, then an overall winner will be crowned in early 2027. The town that comes out on top will be awarded £3 million to make its plans a reality and host a season of culture in 2028. Here are five towns we’d love to see be named the UK Town of Culture 2028.
Time Out’s top picks for the UK Town of Culture 2028
Leith
Leith has been named one of Time Out’s coolest neighbourhoods in the world twice before. In its bid for Town of Culture 2028, Leith proposed a series of events marking 900 years since the first documented records of the town. The programme would include large-scale events on the waterfront, community-led festivals and £1 million Community Culture Fund. When the bid was first revealed, it got backing from Leith legends like Trainspotting writer Irvine Welsh, Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones and radio presenter Vic Galloway.
Ilfracombe
This Devon town is the only place in the south-west of England to make it onto the shortlist. Its entry for the competition cites its historical working harbour (which has been in use since the thirteenth century) and a giant 66ft tall Damien Hirst statue as examples of its contributions to national culture and heritage. On top of those, it has a stacked calendar of annual events, from the Art Trail, Sea Ilfracombe and Ilfracombe Beer Festival to the brand new Shanty Festival and Ilfracombe Photography Festival.
Great Yarmouth
2028 is a year of big birthdays for Great Yarmouth. Its Venetian Waterways will turn 100, the Hippodrome will hit 125, and the Out There Festival will celebrate two decades. It’ll also be the year that its Victorian Winter Gardens reopen following an £18 million spruce up. That’s all on top of the milestones it has reached this year, like its Britannia Pier winning Pier of the Year and being featured on Time Out’s list of the best seaside towns to visit in 2026.
Port Talbot
For a steel town on the south Welsh coast, Port Talbot and the Afan Valley has given the world a startling number of huge Hollywood actors – Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Sheen all grew up there. It was where, in 2011, Sheen performed The Passion for 72 hours across its streets, seafront and shopping centre in what is still one of the most celebrated pieces of theatre in Wales. In its bid, Neath Port Talbot Council wrote that it wanted to tell the story of an area with a ‘powerful industrial heritage, a nationally recognised creative legacy and a strong community arts and culture scene’ at a time of ‘significant change’ following the closure of Tata Steel’s Port Talbot works.
Birkenhead
Out of 41 entries from the region, Birkenhead is the only town flying the flag for the northwest of England. Its bid said that as the Town of Culture it would use natural stages like Birkenhead Park and the waterfront to showcase local talent, culture and community. The application takes pride in the area’s offbeat character, with landmarks like the Grade-II listed outsider art palace Ron’s Place and its reputation as a ‘one-eyed’ city – a nickname rumoured to be tied to everything from horrific sailors’ injuries to the single ‘i’ in its name and the lone headlights on Birkenhead’s old cross-river tram.
Every town shortlisted for UK Town of Culture 2028
Small towns
- Ilfracombe, Devon
- Isle of Bute, Scotland
- Lerwick, Scotland
- Sandown, Isle of Wight
- Strabane, Northern Ireland
- Stockton Town Centre Ward, County Durham
Medium towns
- Corby, Northamptonshire
- Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
- Leith, Scotland
- Pontypridd, Wales
- Port Talbot, Wales
Large towns
- Basildon, Essex
- Birkenhead, Merseyside
- Grimsby, Lincolnshire
- Rotherham, South Yorkshire
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