The city of Cardiff have just announced the decision to rule itself out of a highly celebrated bid to be baptised as the European Capital of Culture in 2023.
Despite the previous interest shown by the city residents and council members, Cardiff City Council have just announced the decision, saying that at the moment the “”time wasn’t right”” for a bid for the title. The plan instead is to use the resources that would go into the bid to instead focus on more and alternative ways of boosting the reputation that Cardiff has a city and a cultural hub, starting by building on its existing arts and creative faculties sector.
In each year of the competition to be named the European Capital of Culture, two cities from two separate countries from across the continent of Europe host the esteemed title giving each year. For the 2023 competition, these nominated countries are set to be the United Kingdom and Hungary. Plans to bid for the title have already been announced by various cities across the country including those received from Nottingham, Leeds, Dundee, Milton Keynes and Belfast. The winner will be selected from amongst these competitors and is set to be revealed by the end of the year 2018.
This will not be the first time that the United Kingdom will play host to this highly significant event. The United Kingdom has actually hosted the European Capital of Culture previously on two occasions; one being in Glasgow in the year 1990 and then once again in the city of Liverpool more recently in 2008.
A spokesperson from the Cardiff City Council and based in the heart of the city has released a statement saying that: “”Following discussions arranged by the council with leaders from the city’s arts community and creative sector, a consensus emerged that, from a standing start, the time wasn’t right to make a bid to become the European Capital of Culture.
“Several other ideas and projects were discussed however, which we are starting to take forward in partnership with the arts and the creative sector, looking at new ways of improving and growing the reputation of Cardiff, and indeed the wider region, as one of the UK’s leading cultural destinations.”
This announcement then that the city of Cardiff has decided not to run for the title and recognition of being the European Capital of Culture in 2023 means that the city can be expected to see a great amount of work go into other areas of the city in need of attention over the coming year. While these local improvements are carried out the city will eagerly await the announcement at the end of 2018 as to which UK city that has decided to make a bid will take the esteemed title.
