I must congratulate Derry and wish them every success in 2013. 

We may not have the title but rest assured we will continue to be a city of culture. We have every reason to be proud of our bid and the way people and groups across Birmingham pulled together to promote cultural activity. This was a city-wide effort with arts groups, the media, communities and individuals playing a part.

Now we have to make the most of that passion and commitment and, with significant events like the magnificent new library opening, Birmingham will still be a cultural capital in 2013.

We will continue to focus on the importance of culture as a force to enrich and unite people and communities across the city.

We’ve used the bidding process to draw-up a new cultural strategy for the city – a strategy that will serve the city well for years to come. So we have a very tangible outcome from this process.

The campaign has undoubtedly raised the profile of culture within our city, with media coverage alone worth in excess of £4 million. There were over 70 million opportunities to see or hear our campaign, with a London poster campaign proving particularly effective.

Our aim from day one was to make this a campaign from the grassroots up and that has certainly been the case. Online we’ve reached thousands of people, through blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Our Big Culture Blog reached 7,500 people in just 24 hours while supporters sent over 1,000 messages of support as we pitched to the judges up in Liverpool.

Cllr. Martin Mullaney
Chair of the Birmingham
Cultural Partnership