'Blackpool is the UK's playground' - £35,000 on offer for projects promoting UK City of Culture 2029 bid

Blackpool organisations, creatives and community groups are being invited to bid for a share of a £35,000 funding pot as part of the town’s campaign to become UK City of Culture 2029.

Grants ranging from £500 to £8,000 are being made available for projects that help shape Blackpool’s long-term cultural vision, gather community insight and strengthen the town’s national bid. Blackpool is currently through to the second round of the UK City of Culture bidding alongside 8 other locations across the country.

A 10-year cultural strategy

Council leaders say the initiative is not only about securing the 2029 title, but about creating a 10-year cultural strategy designed to support local people, grow the town’s creative sector and strengthen Blackpool’s identity for future generations.

Applications are now open for organisations, artists, community groups and businesses wanting to contribute ideas and projects that explore what culture means in Blackpool, how residents want to engage with it and how the town can develop its cultural ecosystem.

The programme also aims to help define what a successful City of Culture bid could mean for communities across Blackpool, while ensuring the town tells its story with “ambition and authenticity”.

The expression of interest deadline is midnight on June 7, 2026, with submissions being reviewed during the week commencing June 9. Successful projects are expected to begin during the week of June 15.

Applications should be submitted by email to [email protected].

What happens if Blackpool wins?

If Blackpool is successful in its bid for UK City of Culture 2029, the town would receive £10 million to deliver a year-long programme of arts and cultural events aimed at local residents and visitors alike.

Supporters of the bid say the title would help boost the visitor economy, create jobs and shine a national spotlight on the creativity, resilience and talent already present across the town.

The final bid submission deadline is August 10, with organisers describing the process as an opportunity to build a lasting cultural legacy for the next decade while giving residents a renewed sense of pride in Blackpool’s identity as a bold and culturally dynamic seaside town.

‘Culture here is not just consumed, but created, shared and owned’

Creative Blackpool, which is made up of representatives from Blackpool-based cultural organisations and independent artists, is backing the bid. On their website, they say: “Blackpool is the UK’s playground - where light, performance, spectacle, music, movement, humour, nightlife, escapism, sport, heritage and belonging come together.

“Built for gathering, Blackpool has welcomed generations into a shared cultural experience that is bigger, bolder and open to all - not as an aspiration, but as its founding instinct. Most places separate high culture from popular culture. Blackpool dissolves that distinction. The Opera House sits alongside arcades. World-class ballroom dancing alongside grime and live music.

“The Illuminations alongside contemporary art. Pleasure Beach thrills alongside community festivals. Here, mass participation is the culture. The extraordinary has always been for everyone. Behind the bright lights is something just as powerful. Hidden creatives - makers, storytellers, performers, craftspeople - shaping culture every day in studios, streets and shared spaces.

“In neighbourhoods and schools, in communities facing some of the UK’s highest deprivation, that creative energy endures. City of Culture 2029 is the moment it becomes visible, invested in, and celebrated on a national stage.

“This is not simply a celebration of what Blackpool already has. It is a genuine act of transformation - opening pathways into creative careers, embedding culture in everyday life, and building the confidence and infrastructure to sustain creativity long beyond 2029.

“We will show that culture here is not just consumed, but created, shared and owned. That boldness, humour and imagination can light a future as bright as our seafront. The timing matters. 2029 marks 150 years of the Illuminations, 135 years since the Tower and Grand Theatre, and follows the Winter Gardens’ 150th in 2028.

“These are more than milestones - they are a platform for reinvention and a national conversation about what popular culture means, where it came from, and who it belongs to. Together, we will build a programme and legacy that is eclectic, ambitious and full of heart.

“We will show the nation what Blackpool has always known: that creativity is a career, a community and a calling. That the extraordinary - truly extraordinary, for everyone - doesn’t require an invitation.