Town of Culture bid draws community support

Crewe’s bid to become the UK’s first Town of Culture was unveiled at a special event at Crewe Market Hall.

The UK Town of Culture is a new competition launched by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to shine a spotlight on the important roles towns, like Crewe, play in national life – and the buzz around Crewe’s bid is getting bigger by the day.

The event highlighted what the bid is all about, how to get involved and what scooping Town of Culture would mean to Crewe – not just the status but £3m to deliver an ambitious programme of cultural activity in 2028.

Dubbed Change@Crewe, the bid campaign is led by the Crewe Cultural Consortium and CreweCreates a well-established partnership including Crewe Lyceum, Crewe Town Council, Cheshire East Council, Crewe Heritage Trust, Cheshire’s archives: a story shared, Crewe Library, Crewe Engineering & Design UTC, Cheshire College – South & West, Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity, Discover Crewe and South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry

A spokesman said: “Crewe has a powerful cultural story, rooted in its heritage, shaped by its communities, and alive in its creativity today. Applying for Town of Culture is about recognising that strength and building on it together.

“It is a competition and we are up against towns with an existing cultural offer however Crewe for the last 10 years has built a vibrant cultural infrastructure and offer putting us in a good place. We’re at a springboard moment where winning the bid could make huge difference and help meet many local needs.

“We’ve been out and about telling as many local people as possible and the story gets richer by the day. It was really energising to see the support the night.”

Guest speakers were drawn from CreweCreates, Crewe Lyceum Crewe Heritage Centre plus Crewe Mayor Sally Graham.

Among the community groups represented were:

Alpha Omega WPS Foundation, Hope 4 More, Body Positive Cheshire & North Wales, Cheshire East Filipino Community (Group) and Creative Crewe.

For more about the bid see One Crewe’s recent story https://onecrewe.co.uk/support-grows-for-crewe-uk-town…/

The message is: Whether you’re a creative, business, community group or proud resident – the opportunity is there to get involved!

Go to https://eu.surveymars.com/q/TxxWFZAYa?collect=3

Pics: Peter Robinson