Wrexham to have its own 'culture year' after failed UK City of Culture bid
Wrexham is planning its own 'year of culture' after missing out on the UK City of Culture 2025 title.
The area was only granted city status a fortnight ago, and hopes were high that it would become the first Welsh winner.
But, as revealed on The One Show on Tuesday evening, Bradford was crowned the new City of Culture, defeating Wrexham, Southampton and County Durham.
Leaders in Wrexham congratulated Bradford, and said it the Welsh city will have its own year of culture in 2023.
Joanna Swash, CEO of Moneypenny and chair of Wrecsam City of Culture steering group, said: “We’ve achieved so much in this short amount of time and have witnessed an outpouring of community and business support for the bid. We’ve shown just how much drive and potential that Wrexham has to offer and we have a strong platform to build on this further in terms of culture, skills and innovation in our county.”
Councillor Mark Pritchard, leader of Wrexham County Borough Council said: “It has been great to see our many achievements, community engagement and support for the bid, but for now, we will no longer proceed in the competition and wish Bradford the best of luck in their year as UK City of Culture in 2025.
“We have now achieved city status for Wrexham and we look forward to realising the benefits that this will bring.”
More detailed plans for Wrexham's year of culture will be outlined in July.
