David Burbidge, chair of the Coventry 2021 bid team, said: “It’s huge and just an incredible result. The amount of upfront, guaranteed public money which goes to the UK city of culture is not huge in the scale of things. EU rules British cities cannot be capitals of culture Read moreImportantly, the city of culture status gives leverage and access to other pots of money, public and private. The lure of the prize has intensified after the EU, post-Brexit, cancelled Britain’s previously agreed turn to have a city given European City of Culture status in 2023. The UK city of culture programme was introduced by the then Labour culture secretary Andy Burnham and has spawned a London version, with mayor Sadiq Khan launching a contest to choose a London borough of culture, the first in 2019.

Source: The Guardian December 07, 2017 19:28 UTC