Tourism minister Stephanie Peacock says Blackpool’s big ambitions helped it make City of Culture shortlist

The minister responsible for awarding City of Culture status for 2029 made an official visit to Blackpool last night to see what our world famous resort had to offer.

A fish and chip supper and a guided tour through Blackpool Illuminations was the order of the day, for Tourism Minister Stephanie Peacock from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, after a stop at the town’s hommage to its showbiz past, Showtown.

The minister’s visit was to celebrate Blackpool’s s shortlisting in the UK City of Culture competition and for her to take a look at the town’s cultural offering.

Alongside Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Wrexham, Blackpool is now in the running for the prestigious title that will unlock significant benefits for the local communities, such as increased investment, more access to cultural activities, and job creation.

Almost 30,000 people from across the country, including leading celebrities and businesses, have all joined the call for Blackpool to be awarded the title.

Blackpool’s bid for City of Culture 2029 has been backed community and business leaders who said making the shortlist would enable the resort “to show the country exactly what our town is made of” and prove to the rest of the UK “there is nowhere quite like Blackpool”.

Ms Peacock said the four shortlisted areas had progressed so far in the competition because “they showed the greatest ambition and intent that they could use culture for transformational change”.

She said: “Blackpool is, of course, one of the four cities that has made it to the final shortlist.

“The independent judging panel will be visiting all of the four entries, as well as the minister responsible. And I think the reason they've all made it this far is because they showed the greatest ambition and intent that they could use culture for transformational change.”

Ms Peacock said she was no stranger to Blackpool having visited numerous times over the years on holiday and more recently in her official capacity.

She said: “I’ve been to Blackpool a few times over the years. I'm obviously here this evening as part of the City of Culture bid to see what the what the area's got to offer as part of that. But I was here in the summer for a short holiday.

“This evening it's been brilliant to see Showtown. It's sort of really illustrating and showcasing the history and culture of the area. But you know, in the summer, I was pleased to go to the Pleasure Beach, and I went on the new ride with local MP Chris Webb. We did it in the rain. It was pretty high the new ride, but also had afternoon tea at the (Tower) ballroom and I’ve been to the Pier. So I've seen quite a bit of the area over the last few months.”

The competition supports a key part of the government's drive to boost pride in every part of the country and ensure every town and city benefits from economic growth by devolving more power, funding and decision-making to local leaders alongside the pride in place programme.

Each shortlisted place is now guaranteed to receive at least £125,000 to take forward elements of their bid, with one place ultimately going on to take the title and a prize fund of £10million.

The four locations were recommended by the UK City of Culture expert advisory panel, chaired by Sir Phil Redmond. The shortlist was whittled down from nine outstanding longlist applications which also included Inverness-Highland, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Swindon.

As part of their bids, places were asked to explain how they would use culture as a catalyst to transform their place and the lives of communities through boosting growth, opportunities and pride.

Talking about her plans to enjoy what Blackpool had to offer, Ms Peacock said: “I'm really very much looking forward to seeing the illuminations. Which after we finish having a chat, I'm going to go and have a look at them and if we have some time maybe fish and chips.”

Previous winners Derry-Londonderry, Hull, Coventry and Bradford have shown the vast benefits of winning the prestigious title, which include attracting millions of pounds in additional investment to help boost regeneration, a year in the cultural spotlight with hundreds of events encouraging long-lasting participation in the arts, growth for local tourism and a lasting boost to community pride.

Last year Bradford led a showstopping cultural programme of more than 6,500 events - over 80% of which were free - that resulted in capital investment for more than 30 local cultural organisations. Bradford’s year in the spotlight also led to increased opportunities for local people to get involved with events, with over 88,000 residents taking part in key projects throughout the year. 87% of Bradford 2025 audiences also agreed that the event made them feel proud of their local area.

There is also evidence that bidding to win UK City of Culture in its own right brings many benefits, including supporting a place to develop its cultural strategy and bring together key partners.

Sir Phil Redmond, Chair of the UK City of Culture Expert Advisory Panel, said: “Once again there is a hard choice ahead. The four places on the shortlist continue to demonstrate both the variety and strength of creative ambition across the UK.

“Each place represents a different view, or aspect, epitomising what culture is, the sum of all we do together, and while each approaches it differently, they all share the common aim of reminding the rest of the UK of who they are, where they are and why they are worth visiting.

“I look forward to doing that myself, along with the rest of the Advisory Panel in the near future.”

The shortlisted places will now work to develop and finalise their full bids, which will explain how they would use culture to create transformational opportunities and better lives for people living in their local area ahead of a winner being announced next year.