Blackpool 'chuffed and proud' to make UK City of Culture shortlist

The leader of Blackpool Council has said she is "just so chuffed for everyone" after the resort was shortlisted in the competition to become the UK's City of Culture in 2029.

Blackpool, Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Wrexham are in the running to become the fifth holder of the title , with the eventual winner set to receive £10m to deliver a year of cultural events and activities.

Lynn Williams said she was "thrilled, delighted" and "very proud" of the "team effort" to get this far.

"I'm really super-excited about what we do, how we build on this, [and how] we carry forward this momentum," she told BBC Radio Lancashire .

She said Blackpool's bid was "about celebrating that working class history of entertainment".

"Our culture should be for everyone," she said. "And that's what our bid's about."

Kate Shane, managing director at Blackpool Tourism, said it was "fantastic news" to have made the final four.

She said the "key message to us before we submitted the bid was 'celebrate Blackpool, don't try to be something that you're not'.

"Blackpool is a city of culture to us now anyway, we've got so much to celebrate, there's so much we can be proud of," Shane said.

"We've just got to now rally everybody together and work on what we've submitted and make sure that we're on point."

Meanwhile, Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South, said now becoming overall winner was within reach.

"I'm almost certain we'll walk away with the prize, because no-one can beat Blackpool," he said.

He said the judging panel had "highlighted the good bits and the bits they want us to work on, and now we'll be putting our heads down getting to improve that bid".

He said judges would visit the town for a day before a "final pitch" was made in London.

Sir Phil Redmond, the chair of the UK City of Culture expert advisory panel, said Blackpool made the shortlist because of "the authentic voice of the place".

He said anyone winning the competition was "the start of the journey" to "remind people how great their places actually are".

Adam Knight, chair of Creative Blackpool Development Group, a partnership organisation who look at art and community engagement in the town, said: "We were quietly confident that we'd get down to the final four, and it's brilliant to see that recognised".

He said Blackpool was "a place that people have great fun, great memories of, they keep coming back".

"We want this to be a city of culture not just for Blackpool and the Fylde coast, but for the whole of Lancashire and for the whole of the North West," he added.

The winner, which will succeed Bradford , will be announced later this year. Wrexham was shortlisted last year as well.

The expanded competition now includes cities, large towns, regions and groups of places working together.

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