Leamington Spa is set to be entered into the bid for the UK Town of Culture competition 2028, announced by the government, the Town Council has confirmed.

The 2028 competition is the first of its kind across the UK and has been created to celebrate the cultural life and identity of towns. The title will be awarded along with central government funding to enable the delivery of a major cultural programme in the successful town.

Applications are open until 31 March with categories for small, medium and large towns with Leamington Spa being part of the medium category A shortlist of towns is expected to be announced later this spring

The strongest bids will progress to a shortlist, with each shortlisted town receiving £60,000 to help deliver their full bids for the competition. Three finalists – one from each of the three categories – will be chosen with the winner receiving a £3 million prize and the two runners-up receiving £250,000 to enable them to deliver parts of their proposed cultural programme.

Mayor of Leamington Spa, Cllr Ruggy Singh shared: "Leamington Spa is the cultural centre of this area – we have a vibrant arts scene, many diverse communities, fantastic parks and a fascinating history to dig into. Our exciting, inclusive bid will be taking all these elements and approaching them from a different perspective.

"We need the help of the people who live and work here and everyone who loves Leam to shape our bid and to create and deliver our programme of events, activities and displays. We will be holding drop-in sessions in February across town for people to find out about Town of Culture and how they can be involved from the start."

Drop-in sessions will be held at the following venues:

• Lillington Community Centre, 3 Mason Avenue, CV32 7QE – Wednesday 11th February 5 to 8pm
•  The Sydni Centre, Cottage Square, CV31 1PT– Monday 16 February 5 to 8pm
• Town Hall, Parade – Tuesday 17th February 5 to 8pm

An online survey is also available which people can complete to support the bid and can be found here.

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