One of five shortlisted cities will be named as the UK’s first cultural hotspot since the Brexit vote on Thursday, with each contender hoping UK city of culture status for 2021 comes with an economic boost.

Stoke-on-Trent, home of the potteries, is up against Dylan Thomas’s hometown of Swansea and Sunderland in the industrial north-east. Coventry, which inspired the Specials to write Ghost Town during the early 1980s recession, is also vying for the prize alongside Paisley, the largest town in Scotland and birthplace of the late Gerry Rafferty, best known for his solo hit Baker Street.

The winner of the government-backed accolade, which was established following Liverpool’s year as European capital of culture in 2008, will be hoping to use its time in the limelight to attract investment and to boost civic pride, as Hull has this year and Derry/Londonderry did in 2013.

The award will also take on additional significance after the EU ruled that British cities were no longer eligible to become the European capital of culture, dashing the hopes of Dundee, Leeds and others preparing bids for the year 2023 costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. Britain had been due to have one of its cities designated as the European capital in that year, alongside one in Hungary.



Both the European and British prizes are seen as a vehicles for regenerating cities that have suffered economic decline in recent years through culture and the arts. Previous winners such as Glasgow, winner of the European prize in 1990, and Liverpool were badly scarred by the collapse of their maritime industries following the second world war, while Hull has also experienced years of decline due to the gradual demise of its fishing industry.

John Glen, the arts minister who will announce the winner on the BBC’s One Show after 7pm on Thursday, said the award would boost economic growth as well as attracting inward investment and tourism. “Hull city council put culture at the heart of their local regeneration plan and it has been instrumental in transforming the city,” he said.

Stephen Brady, leader of Hull city council, said visitors had reassessed Hull when it was made city of culture. “We set out as a city to say to them: ‘Have a good close look. It’s actually a very nice place to come to’ – and we have changed people’s views. That’s what I’m really pleased about. We’re not the butt of jokes as we used to be,” he said.

Hull’s cultural programme included 365 days of art, theatre, music and other events. It is estimated that city of culture status brought a £60m boost to the economy in 2017, while nine out of 10 residents have attended, or taken part in, an event and the city has seen over £1bn of investment since winning the title in 2013.

The mayor of the West Midlands, the former John Lewis boss Andy Street, said he hoped the country would look anew at Coventry, the birthplace of Philip Larkin, if it won.

“This will force a re-examination and the truth will come out,” he said, adding that a vote for Coventry would be one for the Midlands as a whole. “People who don’t know our story up close might not have such a positive impression, but the facts are positive.”

The city has constantly redefined itself since the Luftwaffe obliterated its medieval core during the second world war, but Street believes the award would be an endorsement of community diversity at a time of growing divisions across the country – pointing out that 27% of the city’s residents were born outside the UK.



“This is about asking what type of place we want Britain to be as we move into the early 2020s, post-Brexit. It should be an inclusive place where any force that unites us does so, and this is such a uniting thing,” he added.

While the award comes with a £3m Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the potential boost from greater tourism numbers and the confidence the prize instils in local residents and firms can lead to much more significant economic benefits. Liverpool estimated it generated a return of £750m to the local economy from £170m of spending for 2008.

Stoke reckons a successful bid will bring a £73m benefit to the local economy and could lead to the creation of more than 1,800 jobs. Bob Grant, the chief executive of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, who is helping with Paisley’s bid, said there was a potential £175m boost for the town and 4,500 new jobs.

“The bid is definitely not a sticking plaster,” he said, adding: “It’s not something bolted on … [to say] here’s something that will make things just look good.”