Disappointed but we remain a city of culture

Subscribe to RSS Thursday, 15th July, 2010

Birmingham’s UK’s City of Culture team has vowed the city will continue to be a capital of culture despite missing out on the 2013 crown.

And Chairman of the Birmingham Cultural Partnership Cllr Martin Mullaney today insisted the benefits of the bidding for the inaugural UK City of Culture title far outweighed the disappointment of missing out.

Birmingham reached the final four for the inaugural title but Derry/Londonderry was this evening given the nod by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Responding to the news, Cllr Mullaney said: “I must congratulate Derry/Londonderry 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 Mullaney’s comments were echoed by Birmingham Hippodrome CEO Stuart Griffiths who added: “As much as this represents a big disappointment for the many people across the city that supported the bid, we should take heart from the fact that so many thousands of exciting contributions were made to the bid itself.

“Great creative ideas came from all sorts of organisations and individuals who want to see Birmingham properly recognized for its passion, its diversity and its determination to do things well.

“Those people and those ideas are still here and we hope to use them to further the role of culture in the city in enhancing its reputation and encouraging everyone to get the culture habit.”

Cllr Mike Whitby was also interviewed :

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Disappointed but we remain a city of culture

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