Fifteen towns, chosen from 398 bids, have been shortlisted for the UK's first Town of Culture title: six small, five medium and four large towns spanning England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each receives £60,000 to develop its bid, with the eventual winner named UK Town of Culture 2028 and awarded £3 million, according to DCMS.
TL;DR · LAST REVIEWED 9 July 2026
- Fifteen towns shortlisted from 398 bids for the UK's first Town of Culture title: six small, five medium and four large (DCMS, 9 July 2026).
- Nine of the fifteen are in England, three in Scotland (Isle of Bute, Lerwick and Leith), two in Wales (Pontypridd and Port Talbot) and one in Northern Ireland (Strabane).
- Each shortlisted town receives £60,000 to develop its full bid; the eventual UK Town of Culture 2028 winner receives £3 million, with the two runners-up receiving £250,000 each.
- The winner, chosen from one finalist per size category, will be announced in early 2027 and will host a season of culture in 2028.
KEY FACTS
- 398 bids received from over 400 towns across the UK; 15 shortlisted
- Category split: 6 small towns, 5 medium towns, 4 large towns
- Nation split: 9 England, 3 Scotland, 2 Wales, 1 Northern Ireland
- Funding: £60,000 per shortlisted town now; £3 million for the winner; £250,000 each for the two runners-up
- Winner announced early 2027; winning town hosts a season of culture in 2028
- Judging panel chaired by Sir Phil Redmond, with Deputy Chair Ruth Hollis OBE and dedicated representatives for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The 15 shortlisted towns
398 Bids received | → | 15 Shortlisted | → | 3 Finalists (1 per size category) | → | 1 UK Town of Culture 2028 |
Almost 400 towns entered the UK's first Town of Culture competition, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has now cut that field to 15. Three finalists, one from each size category, will be chosen from these 15 to develop full bids, and a single overall winner will be announced in early 2027, taking the title UK Town of Culture 2028.
Where the shortlisted towns are
| England | 9 | |||
| Scotland | 3 | |||
| Wales | 2 | |||
| Northern Ireland | 1 |
| Small towns | 6 | |||
| Medium towns | 5 | |||
| Large towns | 4 |
Scotland's three shortlisted towns span island and mainland Scotland alike: Bute and Shetland for their island communities, and Leith for its port heritage in Edinburgh. Wales has two shortlisted towns, both in the South Wales valleys and coast. Strabane is Northern Ireland's sole representative. The remaining nine are spread across England, from Devon to the North East.
Small towns: Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane and Stockton Town Centre Ward
Ilfracombe
A Victorian seaside resort on the North Devon coast, known for the dramatic Tunnels Beaches, the Landmark Theatre and Damien Hirst's towering bronze statue Verity, which stands at the harbour entrance.
Isle of Bute
Reached by CalMac ferry into the Firth of Clyde, Bute is home to Mount Stuart, a striking Gothic Revival house and gardens, Rothesay Castle, and the Victorian seafront of Rothesay itself.
Lerwick
The UK's most northerly town, built around a working harbour, host to the Up Helly Aa fire festival each winter and home to the Shetland Museum and Archives on the waterfront.
Sandown
A traditional Isle of Wight seaside town with a Victorian pier and sandy beach, and home to Dinosaur Isle, a museum built into the island's fossil-rich coastline.
Strabane
A County Tyrone town on the River Foyle with strong transatlantic links, including Gray's Printing Press, a National Trust site connected to early American printing and publishing.
Derry City and Strabane District Council
Stockton Town Centre Ward
Sits on the River Tees at the start of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first passenger railway line, opened in 1825, with the town's history threaded through its riverside and market heritage.
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Medium towns: Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd and Port Talbot
Corby
Nicknamed "Little Scotland" for the Scottish steelworkers who settled here in the 20th century, Corby sits close to Rockingham Castle and East Carlton Countryside Park.
North Northamptonshire Council
Great Yarmouth
A Norfolk resort with Britain's longest seafront, a herring-fishing history told at the Time and Tide Museum, and the historic Row Houses that once housed its fishing community.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Leith
Edinburgh's historic port district, home to the Royal Yacht Britannia, the waterfront dining strip known as The Shore, and a working harbour heritage still visible along Leith Walk.
Pontypridd
Birthplace of Evan and James James, who composed the Welsh national anthem, with Ynysangharad War Memorial Park and the town's Old Bridge among its landmarks.
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
Port Talbot
A steel town on the South Wales coast that has produced an unusual concentration of acting talent, including Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Sheen, alongside the wide sweep of Aberavon Beach.
Large towns: Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham
Basildon
One of England's post-war New Towns, built from the 1940s with a distinct planned townscape, and home to Wat Tyler Country Park on the Thames estuary.
Birkenhead
Home to Birkenhead Park, the first publicly funded civic park in the world and the direct design inspiration for New York's Central Park, plus Hamilton Square, which has one of the largest concentrations of Grade I listed buildings outside London.
Grimsby
Once the world's busiest fishing port, Grimsby's maritime history is preserved at the National Fishing Heritage Centre, including the restored trawler Ross Tiger moored in the historic dock.
North East Lincolnshire Council
Rotherham
South Yorkshire borough home to Wentworth Woodhouse, the largest privately owned house in Europe with more rooms than Buckingham Palace, as well as the hands-on Magna Science Adventure Centre in a former steelworks.
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
How the funding works
Each of the 15 shortlisted towns now receives £60,000 to develop its outline bid into a full application. From there, the independent panel will recommend one finalist from each size category, small, medium and large, to the Secretary of State for DCMS. The overall winner, drawn from those three finalists, is designated UK Town of Culture 2028 and receives £3 million to deliver a season of cultural events in 2028. The other two finalists each receive £250,000 to carry out part of their own bid. Combined, the scheme represents a £3.5 million prize pool across the three finalists, on top of the development grants paid to all 15 shortlisted towns.
What the towns themselves are saying
Reaction to the shortlist has been strongest in the nations with fewer entries. Wales Secretary Jo Stevens highlighted the cultural heritage behind both Welsh bids, noting Port Talbot's history of producing well-known actors and Pontypridd's connection to the Welsh national anthem. Scotland Minister Kirsty McNeill pointed to the range of Scottish entries, from island communities to historic port towns. Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn congratulated Strabane on securing the region's only place on the shortlist, from around 400 applicants nationally.
Can I visit these towns before 2028?
Yes. None of the 15 shortlisted towns need to wait for a title to be worth visiting: each already has the museums, coastline, heritage sites and town centres described above. Being shortlisted, and later becoming a finalist or the eventual winner, adds a season of funded cultural events, exhibitions and festivals from 2028 onwards, but the underlying reasons to visit exist now.
RELATED GUIDES
DISCLAIMER
This article is for general information only. Kael Tripton Ltd is an independent editorial publisher and is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Town shortlist, category and funding figures are taken directly from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's press release of 9 July 2026. Council links are provided for reference and are not endorsements. ICO registration ZC135439.
Frequently asked questions
What is UK Town of Culture, and how is it different from UK City of Culture?
UK Town of Culture is a new, separate competition from UK City of Culture, launched in October 2025 and open to towns rather than cities. It runs its own shortlist and funding structure, with the first title, UK Town of Culture 2028, to be awarded alongside the ongoing UK City of Culture 2029 competition.
How were the 15 shortlisted towns chosen?
An independent panel chaired by Sir Phil Redmond assessed 398 bids against three criteria: each town's distinctive story, how it would bring the community together, and how it would deliver its proposed cultural programme. The panel recommended the shortlist to the Secretary of State for DCMS.
What happens next, and when will the winner be announced?
The 15 shortlisted towns now develop full bids using their £60,000 grants. The panel will recommend one finalist per size category, small, medium and large, and the overall winner will be announced in early 2027, taking the title UK Town of Culture 2028 and hosting a season of cultural events that year.
Which other towns bid but did not make the shortlist?
Almost 400 towns entered, including well-known names such as Ludlow, Whitby, Stratford-upon-Avon and Rye. DCMS has said all bidding towns, shortlisted or not, should be proud of the work put into their applications, and their postcards remain in the National Museums Liverpool collection.
Can I visit these towns now, or do I need to wait until 2028?
All 15 towns can be visited now. The competition adds a funded season of cultural events to whichever town eventually wins in 2028, but the museums, coastline, heritage sites and town centres that make each shortlisted town worth visiting already exist.
SOURCES
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Shortlist for UK Town of Culture revealed – accessed 9 July 2026
- GOV.UK, UK Town of Culture 2028 Expression of Interest: Guidance for bidders – accessed 9 July 2026
