Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, is looking to put forward Wolverhampton for the UK 2025 City of Culture Competition.
The UK City of Culture is a competition run by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) every four years. Previous winners are Derry/Londonderry in 2013, Hull in 2017, and Coventry this year.
Gavin has reached out to the Leader of Wolverhampton City Council, Mr Ian Brookfield, proposing they join forces and put forward a joint bid.
The MP for South Staffordshire believes Wolverhampton would make an ideal candidate for the UK’s City of Culture due to its rich history and cultural diversity.
Since the Victorian era, Wolverhampton has seen a number of companies expand their status to international reputation. The Chubb Building, which dates from 1899 and made Wolverhampton synonymous with lockmaking, is one of the few Canal Street factories that has survived to this day.
Wolverhampton also plays host to the Wolverhampton Art Gallery, home to one of the country’s largest pop art collections, the Grand Theatre, which dates from 1894, the Lighthouse Cinema, the Grade 2-listed Wolverhampton Central Library, Bantock House, Wightwick Manor and the magnificent St Peter’s Collegiate Church. In addition, the city has a rich musical history, with the rock groups Slade, Cornershop, Babylon Zoo and Beverley Knight all having hailed from the area.
Gavin Williamson said “Making Wolverhampton the UK's next City of Culture would bring well-deserved recognition to the city. This would not just benefit this dynamic and culturally diverse city but would also bring visibility, benefits, and opportunities to the West Midlands, including my own constituency of South Staffordshire.”
