Lancashire 2025: UK City of Culture Bid

On July 19, Lancashire 2025 submitted an official expression of interest to host UK City of Culture in 2025; possibly one of the most ambitious statements any city or region can make about its people and place, and one, that until a few years ago, we might never have contemplated.

As chair of Marketing Lancashire, working closely with the LEP and Lancashire’s local authorities, we have looked for a project that would elevate the county both nationally and internationally, a county that we believe has the best of all worlds – towns and cities, coast and countryside, manufacturing heritage and innovative new industries, but most of all indefatigable, proud people. After the 18 months we have endured, imagine Lancashire as a ‘virtual city’ of 1.5m people that is connected through culture and creativity, embedded and celebrated in all we do.

The benefits of hosting UK City of Culture are considerable and that transformation of image, how we’re perceived by others, is long overdue. We are intensely proud of Lancashire and thankful for our incredible quality of life and the opportunities for work, study and investment. However, we know we also have capacity to grow, to connect our communities, to create a more sustainable future and we certainly have the potential to welcome more people to discover Lancashire for themselves.

We believe that winning and hosting UK City of Culture in 2025 can do all of that and more for Lancashire businesses and encourage our young people to see the opportunities within the county.

Coventry, the current UK City of Culture 2021, is expecting millions of additional visitors, the creation of 900 jobs and has secured over £110 million in additional investment over the 2018-22 period. I ask you to imagine the potential benefits for Lancashire if we win for 2025, both social and economic.

We are asking businesses across the county to share our ambition with your employees and direct them to Lancashire2025.com where they can ‘sign the bid’. Our aim is to present the judging panel with an overwhelming show of support from the people of Lancashire.

Thank you.

#ImagineLancashire

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