BARNSLEY’S bid to become the UK’s Town of Culture began this week when leaders submitted a formal expression of interest to the government.
It was announced a month ago that a group of organisations were working together on a bid for Barnsley to become for 2028 and secure the £3m prize to deliver a transformational cultural programme.
Since then, dozens of creative individuals, groups and cultural organisations have expressed their support.
A wide array of partners from across the borough have prepared a ‘compelling case’ to government.
Poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan backed the bid, adding: “I’m proud to support our bid to become Town of Culture because, let’s face it, we could have laid down and died after the devastation of the 1980s but we didn’t.
“We reinvented ourself as a place that celebrated the past and looked to the future.
“I travel all over the place and I know that the world’s idea of Barnsley is changing we’re seen as a place where creativity matters, where stories can be told and songs can be sung and art can be made by anyone, no matter who they are or where they’re from.
“I already tell people I’m from a cultural town so I can’t wait to tell them I live in the UK’s Town of Culture.”
