Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport written question – answered at on 22 July 2026.
Andrew Snowden
Opposition Assistant Whip (Commons)
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many Expressions of Interest were received for the UK Town of Culture 2028 competition, broken down by (a) nation of the UK, (b) English region and (c) local authority area.
Ian Murray
Minister of State
DCMS received 398 Expression of Interests representing over 400 places from across the UK. I am delighted that so many towns wanted to celebrate their contribution to our national story and to use culture and creativity to tell their story and why they are proud of their community.
A breakdown by nation of the UK, English region and local authority area is set out below. Please note that the listed local authorities may not be the principal bidding partners; this list illustrates the geographical distribution of Expressions of Interest across local authority areas.
Annex a - Town of Culture EOI by nation of the UK and region of England
Region | Count |
England (East Midlands) | 41 |
England (East of England) | 34 |
England (North East) | 20 |
England (North West) | 39 |
England (South East) | 71 |
England (South West) | 59 |
England (West Midlands) | 35 |
England (Yorkshire and the Humber) | 37 |
5 | |
Scotland | 26 |
Wales | 31 |
Annex b - Town of Culture EOI by Local Authority Area
Local Authority | Count |
Kent County Council | 14 |
Lancashire County Council | 14 |
12 | |
11 | |
North Yorkshire Council | 11 |
Cornwall Council | 10 |
Derbyshire County Council | 11 |
Hampshire County Council | 9 |
Oxfordshire County Council | 9 |
Somerset Council | 9 |
Lincolnshire County Council | 8 |
8 | |
Nottinghamshire County Council | 8 |
Warwickshire County Council | 8 |
Wiltshire Council | 8 |
East Sussex County Council | 7 |
Norfolk County Council | 7 |
Powys County Council | 7 |
Shropshire Council | 7 |
Suffolk County Council | 7 |
Dorset Council | 6 |
Durham County Council | 6 |
Essex County Council | 6 |
6 | |
Leicestershire County Council | 6 |
Staffordshire County Council | 6 |
6 | |
6 | |
Dumfries and Galloway Council | 5 |
Isle of Wight Council | 5 |
Kirklees Council | 5 |
North Northamptonshire Council | 5 |
Surrey County Council | 5 |
Buckinghamshire Council | 4 |
Cheshire East Council | 4 |
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council | 4 |
East Riding of Yorkshire Council | 4 |
Leeds City Council | 4 |
South Gloucestershire Council | 4 |
Worcestershire County Council | 4 |
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council | 3 |
3 | |
Gwynedd Council | 3 |
3 | |
North Somerset Council | 3 |
Cambridgeshire County Council | 2 |
2 | |
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council | 2 |
2 | |
Flintshire County Council | 2 |
Midlothian Council | 2 |
Milton Keynes City Council | 2 |
Monmouthshire County Council | 2 |
Pembrokeshire County Council | 2 |
Perth and Kinross Council | 2 |
Rutland County Council | 2 |
Scottish Borders Council | 2 |
Torfaen County Borough Council | 2 |
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council | 2 |
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council | 1 |
1 | |
1 | |
Bedford Borough Council | 1 |
Birmingham City Council | 1 |
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council | 1 |
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council | 1 |
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council | 1 |
1 | |
Caerphilly County Borough Council | 1 |
1 | |
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council | 1 |
Central Bedfordshire Council | 1 |
Cheshire West and Chester Council | 1 |
City of Edinburgh Council | 1 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) | 1 |
1 | |
Derry City and Strabane District Council | 1 |
East Ayrshire Council | 1 |
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council | 1 |
Fife Council | 1 |
Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council | 1 |
Halton Borough Council | 1 |
Hartlepool Borough Council | 1 |
1 | |
1 | |
Isle of Wight Council | 1 |
1 | |
Medway Council | 1 |
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council | 1 |
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council | 1 |
Moray Council | 1 |
Neath Port Talbot Council | 1 |
Newport City Council | 1 |
North East Lincolnshire Council | 1 |
North Lanarkshire Council | 1 |
North Lincolnshire Council | 1 |
North Tyneside Council | 1 |
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council | 1 |
Renfrewshire Council | 1 |
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council | 1 |
1 | |
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council | 1 |
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council | 1 |
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council | 1 |
1 | |
Slough Borough Council | 1 |
1 | |
1 | |
Southend-on-Sea City Council | 1 |
1 | |
1 | |
1 | |
1 | |
Swansea Council | 1 |
Swindon Borough Council | 1 |
1 | |
Telford & Wrekin Council | 1 |
Thurrock Council | 1 |
Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council | 1 |
1 | |
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council | 1 |
Warrington Borough Council | 1 |
West Berkshire Council | 1 |
1 | |
West Northamptonshire Council | 1 |
1 | |
1 | |
Wolverhampton City Council | 1 |
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