Birkenhead shortlisted to become UK’s first Town of Culture
Birkenhead is celebrating a major achievement after being shortlisted to become the UK's first Town of Culture.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed that Birkenhead is one of 15 towns - and one of only four towns in the Large Town category - to be shortlisted for the inaugural title in 2028.
Birkenhead's bid reflected the town's identity, strengths, everyday cultural activities, needs and ambitions, with residents and local organisations contributing ideas and taking part in shaping the submission.
Developed by the Birkenhead Culture Partnership - an independent group of artists, groups and organisations led by Future Yard in partnership with Wirral Council - the application centred on Birkenhead being the home of the outsider, offbeat and wildly wonderful. The group will now receive £60,000 to develop a full bid for the title.
More than 400 applications were submitted to the competition. New Brighton was unsuccessful in reaching the shortlist in the Small Town category, despite a strong and compelling bid led by the New Brighton Partnership.
This is fantastic news for Birkenhead and everyone who believes in its future. Being shortlisted for UK Town of Culture is a powerful recognition of a town that has always had an extraordinary story to tell.
Birkenhead is a place of innovation, creativity and resilience. It has a rich heritage and today it is writing an exciting new chapter. For too long, its strengths have been underestimated, but those of us who know and love Birkenhead have always recognised its unique character, its warmth, its creativity and the pride of its communities.
This achievement belongs to everyone who helped bring the bid to life – our artists, community groups, businesses, volunteers, cultural organisations and residents. Their passion, imagination and belief in Birkenhead have created something truly special, and they have showcased the very best of our town, our borough, the Liverpool City Region and the wider North West.
To be shortlisted is a remarkable achievement in itself. It sends a clear message that Birkenhead is a town on the rise, confident in its identity, ambitious for its future and ready to take its place on the national stage. Whatever the final outcome, this moment should give every resident a renewed sense of pride in where we live and confidence in everything Birkenhead can become.
Everyone who contributed to New Brighton’s bid should also be really proud. Although it was sadly not taken forward, it has brought people and ideas together and sets out a fantastic vision for the future direction of the town as a bustling seaside community, full of quirky creativity and unique character.
The UK Town of Culture competition is assessed against three themes: Your Story, Culture for Everyone and Making It Happen.
Full bids will be assessed by an independent judging panel. The winner of the Large Town category, which also includes Basildon, Grimsby and Rotherham, will then compete against the winners of the Medium Town and Small Town categories.
The overall winner will be announced early next year and receive £3 million to deliver a cultural programme during summer 2028. The two runners-up will each receive £250,000 to support elements of their proposed programmes.
The shortlisting for Town of Culture is a reflection of the wonderful people and communities of Birkenhead, as well as testament to everyone involved in the bidding process.
Birkenhead has a rich history, with iconic attractions such as Birkenhead Park and Birkenhead Priory, and an extraordinary story to tell. We now have an exciting opportunity to showcase all of its qualities on the national stage.
During the next bidding process, we will continue to celebrate and champion Birkenhead while creating new opportunities for culture, creativity and local pride to flourish.
I would also like to recognise New Brighton, whose bid highlighted everything that makes the town such a unique and vibrant place. We will continue to celebrate the fantastic heritage of New Brighton that we can all be proud of.
Craig Pennington, co-founder and CEO at Future Yard CIC, is a member of the Birkenhead Culture Partnership who helped shape the bid. He is relishing taking the application further in the coming months.
We are hugely excited and humbled by the shortlisting of Birkenhead’s bid for UK Town of Culture. The fact we’re the only town in the North West to make it through to this stage is a massive validation of the hard work and ambition presented by the artists, collectives and local arts organisations of our town.
We’ve set out an unashamedly optimistic vision for the role culture can play at a pivotal moment in our history. This is our chance to realise the vision that has always been there, with meaningful, lasting transformation, driven by culture.
Birkenhead has always been the home of the outsider, the offbeat, the wildly wonderful, and our Town of Culture year will celebrate that: ‘Keep Wirral Weird’ isn’t just a catchphrase, it is a proud declaration of a creative state of mind.
Future Yard and the Birkenhead Culture Partnership are part of a new, revitalised, re-galvanised generation committed to realising Birkenhead’s potential.
With culture at its heart, we are shaping a bold, ambitious, creative tomorrow, for the people of Birkenhead and the dreamers of the world. Now is the moment to turn the camera around, to focus on the town on the left bank.”
What I love about Birkenhead is that it has this brilliantly distinct identity. It's offbeat, inventive, a little notorious – even sitting just across the river from a major city.
That confidence in who you are is exactly what we want to celebrate, and I think adding to that through this title could be something really special. I'm very much looking forward to the full bid.
