Ipswich City of Culture 2029 FAQ

Ipswich has been longlisted for UK City of Culture 2029: a major milestone in a major competition that recognises the town’s cultural ambition and potential.

“We know the creativity, community and pioneering spirit in Ipswich is strong and believe in our potential to share it with the world. It’s fantastic to see that being recognised nationally, and to have the opportunity to develop a full bid that centres Ipswich’s young people and their futures. 

“This is only the beginning and the hard work starts now. We must quickly mobilise and build on the energy and support we have built so far to work together and make the strongest possible case for Ipswich to become UK City of Culture 2029.”

– Bryony Hope, Head of Communications & Development at DanceEast

What is the City of Culture competition?

It’s a national competition run and funded by the Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). First launched back in 2009, it’s already helped places like Derry/Londonderry, Hull, Coventry, and most recently Bradford. The winning city receives £10 million investment from the government to help deliver its year-long programme of events.

But Ipswich is a town and not a city so how can it apply?

It’s not just for cities anymore -the rules changed, and now large towns, regions, and even groups of places can apply. This opens the door for Ipswich and other places to showcase their cultural strengths and compete on the same stage as cities.

Ipswich is going for City of Culture 2029 because the programme is about population size and cultural ambition, not formal city status. With a population of over 150,000 – more than double the definition of a large town at 70,000 – Ipswich clearly meets the scale the programme is designed for. We have been advised to apply for City of Culture, and we believe this route will deliver the greatest impact, investment, and long-term benefit for Ipswich’s communities and cultural sector.

Why do it? Why apply?

Why not?! The winning place gets a guaranteed £10 million of Government funding to help deliver its year-long programme of events.

Even putting a bid together can have a huge positive impact on Ipswich. The process brings cultural partners around the table, sparking new ideas and collaborations, which can help shape a shared vision for the future.

From previous City of Culture competitions, we know those ideas don’t disappear even if the place doesn’t get through to the next stage. Many have gone on to make parts of their plans happen regardless because the partnerships and ambition created during the bid endures long after.

It’s also a chance to open more conversations about all our local culture, art, and heritage assets, and widen participation among people who aren’t currently involved in the town’s arts and cultural scenes.

What is the process and timelines?

Longlist – announced 18th March 2026 – A short application of five questions called an “Expression of Interest” was completed by all places applying. Based on the Expression of Interest, nine places were longlisted – including Ipswich! All nine places now need to develop and strengthen their full application between March/April until August 10th 2026.

Shortlist – announced in Autumn 2026 – The full applications of the longlisted places will be judged against the competition criteria and a shortlist of up to four places will be decided and announced. The judging panel will visit these shortlisted places to engage in detailed discussions about their plans. Shortlisted places will each receive £125,000 to help take forward elements of their bid and drive real change locally.

Winner – announced in Winter 2026 – And delivery of a year of culture by the winning place in 2029, with an award of £10million from DCMS.

Who will be judging?

An Expert Advisory panel is convened by DCMS. The UK City of Culture 2029 panel will be led by Sir Phil Redmond CBE with Claire McColgan CBE as Deputy Chair and DCMS is running an open recruitment process to appoint up to nine individuals to join the panel. The deadline for applications was midday on Monday 24 November 2025.

The panel will submit their recommendation for the shortlist to the Secretary of State for DCMS, who will make the final decision.

Who is leading Ipswich’s application?

The Local Borough Council has devolved responsibility to a small group of organisations with expertise and capacity, primarily DanceEast and Ipswich Central, to lead these early stages of the bid. They are being supported by other resources and expertise as needed. Local MP Jack Abbott has also been a driving force behind the bid.

Now that Ipswich has been longlisted, we will receive feedback and guidance from DCMS on what we need to do for the next stage and we will be developing the bid as well as building out governance structures and consultation processes.

How can I get involved or contribute?

We want the whole town to get behind this. The more people who feel connected and involved, the stronger our bid will be.

Now we have been announced as one of the longlisted places, we will now start planning wider consultation across Ipswich particularly with young people, community groups and cultural organisations.

You can opt in to be kept informed, get involved and become part of future consultations by emailing info@ipswich2029.com.

You can also #BackTheBid by visiting ipswich2029.com.

Who is funding Ipswich’s Bid?

The first stage was funded by local businesses and sponsors including Ipswich Town Football Club, Suffolk New College, Birketts and Churchmanor Estates.

Now that Ipswich is long listed, the Government awards a grant of £60,000 to the local authority to support with developing and strengthening the full application over a 3-4 month period from March/April until the end of the summer.

I have already fed in my ideas, what happens to them?

Thank you for contributing – this is key to the bid. We are now looking at how ideas like these can be part of the next stage.

Further information

Here’s the link if you’d like to read up on all the details of the DCMS City of Culture 2029 competition: UK City of Culture 2029 Expression of Interest: Guidance for bidders – GOV.UK

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Who wrote this about Ipswich?

Sam Sherman

Sam is a Co-Founder of Ipswich.love. Passionate about Ipswich, Sam looks to see how we might jointly reverse some of the recent negativity and bring some deserved positivity back to our beloved Town.