Coventry kickstarts City of Culture bid

The first formal document to kick-start Coventry’s bid to be UK City of Culture in 2021 has been signed and submitted.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport called for any cities wishing to bid to write a submission of interest by February 28.

The overall bid is being put together by Coventry City of Culture Trust but the submission was required to come from the city council in the first instance.

Coventry City Council is, alongside The University of Warwick and Coventry University, a principal partner of the bid and is providing significant support.

But the majority of the funding has been generated through private individuals and businesses including The Ricoh Arena as bid sponsor and Jaguar Land Rover, Friargate, Coventry Building Society, the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham Airport, Pertemps and CEF (City Electrical Factors) as bid development sponsors.

Further to that, more than 60 companies have given financial support as 2021 Club members.

Many of those who have backed the bid attended a ‘thanksgiving’ event at St. Mary’s Guildhall to mark the submission.

Delegates included civic and business leaders and they heard from David Burbidge, chair of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, and Rashid Bhayat, Director of the Positive Youth Foundation (PYF), who said: “We want to win this for Coventry. You only have to listen to the young people in the city who are being inspired by what City of Culture already means to them and what it could mean if we managed to win.”

Mr Burbidge added: “We recognise that there are constraints on the public purse and that is why we have set out from the start to get the business community right behind our bid – and we are thrilled with just how much support we are getting.

“The city council have been fantastic too but it’s important that the people of Coventry know that this bid is by everyone and for everyone – including arts and cultural groups, individuals, community groups, business and the two great universities.

“Everyone is pulling together because they can see what this could do for Coventry both in 2021 and in the years beyond.”