Stockton shortlisted for the UK Town of Culture competition

Stockton is one of the 15 towns shortlisted for the first UK Town of Culture competition, which carries a £3m prize for the winner and £250,000 each for runners-up.

The town centre, picked from 398 bids from over 400 hopeful towns, will now get £60,000 to work on a full bid and the final winner will be announced early next year.

It was shortlisted in the “small town” category alongside Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown and Strabane. The “medium” towns are Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd and Port Talbot and the “large” towns are Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham.

The contest is aimed at showing “culture belongs everywhere” and shining a light on towns which are “vital to our national story” as part of a government drive to restore pride in local areas.

Councillor Nigel Cooke, Stockton Council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure and the environment, said: “For Stockton it’s quite timely because weeks before, we’ve just opened our amazing Waterfront Park. So we were able to publicise Stockton as a town of culture again.

“The winning town is recognised for delivering a vibrant cultural programme and will get £3m to help deliver a major cultural programme in 2028. Two runners-up will receive £250,000 to deliver some key elements of their bid.

“It’s well worth going for. The £3m first prize is certainly something we would really welcome and put to good use in Stockton.

“Stockton is a town of culture, it’s there for all to see. We live and breathe culture, and there’s many different aspects to that.

“Last year we were celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. This year we’re celebrating John Walker, who invented the match.

“We have a strong reputation and track record of promoting festivals in Stockton and we’re very proud of our cultural diversity in our community. There’s many events where the town comes together.”

He pointed particularly to the Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF), adding: “Just a couple of years ago, while the riots were in other towns, we were celebrating the Community Carnival in Stockton where people right across the community of all faiths, religions and ethnicities came together.

"So we feel the cap of the UK Town of Culture very much fits Stockton with everything we do.

“It’s very much about community cohesion and the culture of Stockton being a very welcoming place, we’re so proud of that. Any opportunity we get to shout about that or amplify the voice of our wonderful citizens, we will take.”

He said it was not a council bid but came from a collective of cultural partners like the youth-led movement Bright Minds, Big Futures, the charity Catalyst, Drake the Bookshop, Tees Active and the Tees Music Alliance.

He said: “Last week the government invited all of the areas which had bid to submit a postcard, so that’s what we did.

“We’re not taking anything for granted. I’m quite sure there’ll be lots of other excellent bids in. We’ve got a lot to talk about when it comes to culture and we’re not going to hold back.

“In Stockton town centre within a very small area and quite a tight footprint, a lot of cultural activity goes on with places like ARC, the Globe, the Georgian Theatre, Ku Bar, lots of town centre charities, the church and other organisations. I’ve said on many occasions I see us as being an events town.

“Just being part of the journey is a big thing in itself. To win the prize and be crowned the Town of Culture 2028 would just be an amazing thing.

“Even as a resident I’m so proud, and being one of the civic leaders in the town just to be associated with the bid. It’s just good to be part of it,” he said, urging residents and businesses to support the town, share posts and get involved.

He said the new Stockton Waterfront Urban Park “couldn’t have got off to a better start” in its first weeks: “There was always going to be an element of seeing is believing. There’ll always be doubters.

“There’s people there all the time enjoying the wonderful facility. As we go forward it will become much more of an events space which we can utilise for SIRF, for our November fireworks.

“There’s lots of activity already going on. There’s going to be regular Parkruns, they’ve organised community dog walks, it’s going to be a real hub of activity.”

Stockton West Conservative Matt Vickers MP said: “It’s amazing news that Stockton has been shortlisted to be the UK’s first ever town of culture. As someone who was born and brought up here, I know why – out of more than 400 entries – Stockton was rightly named in the top 15.

“Stockton’s culture has been shaped by its incredible history and the amazing people who live here. For the past six-and-a-half years, I have been doing everything I can to support them in making it an even better place to live, work and visit.

“I was delighted when we secured funding from the last government to improve Preston Park and support the changes to our high street, which we have seen unveiled in recent weeks. We will be pushing to ensure our great town gets the recognition it deserves and to celebrate the great future it has ahead.”

Stockton North Labour MP Chris McDonald said of the shortlisting: “That is a major achievement and a real vote of confidence in our town” and its artists, institutions, theatres, public spaces and residents. He said: “I’ve been banging the drum for some time now about the unique and special cultural offer we have here in Stockton and the country is listening.

“Culture in Stockton is part of who we are. It is in our history, our events, our venues, our businesses and our communities. It is in the story we tell about ourselves and the pride we have in our place.”

He said Labour-led Stockton Council created the conditions for culture to “grow and thrive in the spotlight”, backing festivals, public spaces, regeneration and community life, putting culture “at the heart of the town’s renewal”, adding: “This competition is about towns using culture and creativity to tell their story. Stockton has a powerful story to tell.”

He also referred to Stockton’s “amazing and unique shared cultural experience” at the time of 2024’s divisive riots elsewhere: “That contrast says something important. Culture matters because it brings people together.

“It creates pride, connection and belonging. It reminds us of what we share, not what divides us.

“This bid is a chance not only to celebrate Stockton’s cultural strengths, but to show the whole country what this town has to offer and what it can become. I’m proud to support the bid, and I hope people right across Stockton will get behind it as we head into the next stage.”