Council steps up the pace of City of Culture bid

And promises that win or lose, culture will be at the heart of 2013!

Durham County Council is to step up the pace of its bid to make Durham City the UK's City of Culture in 2013. The bid will centre on the City of Durham but attract participation from, and bring benefits to, the rest of the county and the region as a whole.

And win or lose, it will stage its own Festival of Culture the same year in recognition of the positive role it could play in improving people’s quality of life.

In a report to the first meeting of the new unitary county council’s cabinet in April, its Director of Regeneration and Economic Development, Ian Thompson outlined a strategy for success and spelled out the potential benefits that winning the bid could bring. And to emphasise that the council means business, he announced it had won a promise of sponsorship from the County Durham Partnership’s Performance Reward Grant to support putting the bid together.

“The experience of cities like Liverpool and Glasgow has shown the power and tangible benefits of culture-led regeneration. County Durham will be the first predominantly rural area to bid to take advantage of these benefits and is at a moment in time where new partnerships have the potential to drive forward a City of Culture bid,” said Mr Thompson.

“Our bid could signal a new start for County Durham as a whole, projecting a positive, confident image and reversing economic decline and national perceptions. It would send a powerful signal to the region and the country that County Durham is an area with great potential, demonstrating a shared commitment among those involved to inspire our citizens and transform their prospects.”   

Earlier this year, the County Council was the first authority in the country to signal its intention to compete for the City of Culture title in a new Government competition thrown open to every city in the UK by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham.

Reaffirming his determination to win the bid, Durham County Council Leader Simon Henig said that while Durham was certainly “in it to win it”, those cities like Newcastle, that have narrowly missed winning the main prize in previous city of culture events, have reaped rich rewards from the bidding process itself.

“A cultural renaissance programme in the county has such potential to drive improvements in residents’ quality of life that we are proposing the County Council stages a festival of culture in 2013, regardless of whether the Government presses ahead with this City of Culture competition, or, in the event that it does, regardless of whether we win or lose.”

Cabinet members agreed that a special development group, headed by Chief Executive George Garlick, should now press ahead with an initial outline programme for the bid centred around three strands:

‘Cultural City - Cultural County’ a series of activities reconnecting the communities of the county with its capital city and vice-versa, re-energising the City as the economic, social and creative heart of the county.

‘Creative Durham’ a series of activities designed to enhance the county’s cultural life, encouraging community participation in cultural activities and promote Durham as an area where creative people can live and work.

‘Festival Durham’ an ambitious programme of events and festivals which will take Durham into the next decade, cementing its position as a true cultural destination.