Chichester given backing in bid to grab city of culture accolade
CHICHESTER business leaders are putting their weight behind Chichester's bid to become the UK's very first City of Culture.
Chichester has joined 13 other bidders in the race to become the first UK City of Culture in 2013. From an initial field of 29, only 14 official bids were received by the December deadline.
The Chichester bid will now be assessed along with the others by a judging panel. They will put forward a shortlist of four or five cities to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in February, with the winning city to be announced in late spring 2010.
The prediction is that winning the title will inject tens of millions of pounds into the local economy and it will give an opportunity to host a number of high-profile national events and engage in national media coverage – a prospect which has Chichester business leaders licking their lips.
Farid Ahmed, president of the Chichester Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "Winning would be fantastic for the city, bringing a wealth of benefits, investments, extra life and vigour, and lots of visitors eager to spend their money here.
"I recently went to Liverpool and saw the tremendous effect being European City of culture made on that city – and I want us to have some of that, albeit at a national level."
Chichester's bid has been overseen by the bid partnership consisting of Chichester Heritage and Arts and Chichester District Council.
The bid covers the whole of the Chichester District Council area.
There has been widespread contact with key local arts organisations and other relevant bodies such as West Sussex County Council, Chichester City Council, the lead tourism partnership Visit Chichester and the Chichester Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Michael Follis, chairman of the bid partnership, said: "At this stage, we would like to thank all those who have pledged support for the bid on our website or through other means and also to those who have offered their professional skills in practical support.
"These have all been logged and will be taken up as and when they may be required in the future.
"We are most grateful for the enormous level of encouragement and support we have received from all sectors of the community and the media.
"This process has really caught the interest and imagination of so many people, and not just within the arts community, who see the very real benefits to be had from playing to our cultural strengths to help drive social and economic well-being in our district."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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