Wrexham Council bid to win UK City of Culture 2025

WREXHAM Council has posted on its site details of the work being done in its effort to win the UK City of Culture 2025 bid.

The Council states:

“As part of the bid, we aim to engage with as many members of the community as possible and get their ideas and opinions on what Wrexham’s year as hosts should look like. Creatives will be encouraged to contribute to the decision-making and planning.

Although Wrexham Council is leading on the bid, our businesses and diverse communities are shaping how our year of hosting will look in 2025.

The competition uses culture to ‘level up’ areas of the UK, bringing increased productivity and opportunities to selected areas of the country.

We will explore how culture can reanimate our public spaces and shopping areas, and work on how we can best upgrade our civic and artistic infrastructure to take full advantage of the opportunities that the levelling up agenda provides.

This is especially important as we look to recover from the Covid pandemic.”

Outlining the economic benefits of a successful bid the authority lists:

Wrexham will be seen as a region to invest before, during, and after hosting both from outside investment, and within Wrexham;

Wrexham and surrounding areas will see a boost in tourism as a result;

Our region’s covid recovery will be assisted with increased footfall for the county and in the town centre;

Being hosts of UK City of Culture 2025 will further raise our international profile and

Hull saw an investment of around £219million as hosts in 2017, as well as generating 800 jobs as a direct result of hosting.

The Council adds that Wrexham will be the UK focus for culture and it’s an opportunity to ‘show the world who we are and what we’re made of- hosting will lead to increased community engagement and social inclusion.’

A successful Wrexham bid would mean the award would come to Wales for the first time.

Moneypenny CEO and #Wrecsam2025 bid steering group chair Joanna Swash said:

“By supporting the Wrexham UK City of Culture bid 2025 we can put our community first and highlight our enthusiasm for what Wrexham has to offer. We have deep roots in the town, and are passionate about supporting our people and the wider community that we are a part of.”

Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities, Place and Partnerships at Wrexham County Borough Council said:

“We’re in this competition because we want to win and have Wrexham host UK City of Culture in 2025. From 20 initial applications, we have stiff competition from the other 7 regions who made it onto the longlist with us.

“We have put together a City of Culture team who is currently working flat out to give us the best chance of success.

“Key to the bid’s success is community engagement and involvement in the process. We have invited communities and individuals to bid for funding of up to £1,000 to put on an event showcasing Wrexham’s communities and culture.

“We currently gathering community insight that will be used to shape the bid.”