Date | 15 May 2021 – 1 January 2025 |
---|---|
Location | Coventry, United Kingdom |
Type | UK City of Culture |
Predecessor | Hull UK City of Culture 2017 |
Successor | Bradford UK City of Culture 2025 |
Website | coventry2021 |
Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 is a designation given to the city of Coventry, England, between 2021 and 2025 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The designation means that Coventry gains access to funding to improve its infrastructure and arts facilities, and will host a series of events celebrating local culture. Coventry was selected in 2017 to become the third UK City of Culture since the initiative began in 2013. [1]
UK City of Culture is a designation given to a different city every four years by the DCMS with the aim of using the arts to celebrate and regenerate forgotten areas. [2]
Coventry has been a major manufacturing centre for centuries, producing dyes, leather products, cloth, ribbons and watches. More recently it was the birthplace of the mass-produced modern bicycle, then produced motor vehicles for decades. [3] Because of the important role of its factories in the Second World War, Coventry was devastated by bombing raids which destroyed a large number of buildings in the city centre. [4] The city was rebuilt through the second half of the 20th century, but the decline of manufacturing in the UK hit Coventry hard; unemployment and poverty rose through the 1980s. Communities began to suffer as many people sought work elsewhere. [5] The city is also home to Coventry City FC who compete in English football's second tier, the Championship, having competed in the top flight of English football for 34 years consecutively and the club also won the FA Cup in 1987. The club itself has a diverse and devoted fanbase and undoubtedly has contributed to the local culture of Coventry. The club play at the 32,609 seater Coventry Building Society Arena in Longford which also hosts music events and previously hosted 2012 Olympic football matches.
Coventry has produced some of the UK's best known musicians, including The Selecter, The Specials, Panjabi MC and Pa Salieu. [6] It also has examples of buildings from many different periods of British architecture - from the timber framed houses on Spon Street to the Modernist Cathedral of St Michael. [7] Several well-known writers were born or lived in Coventry including George Eliot, Angela Brazil, Debbie Isitt, Philip Larkin and Lee Child. [8]
The competition to become UK City of Culture began in January 2017 with an announcement from Matt Hancock, then the Secretary of State for Digital and Culture. [9] Bidding closed at the end of April and the shortlist was announced on 14 July 2017; Swansea, Paisley, Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent and Sunderland. [10] Coventry beat the other four cities and towns on the shortlist and was declared the winning bid by Phil Redmond live on The One Show on 7 December 2017. [11] David Burbidge is the Chairman of the Coventry City of Culture Trust and led the successful campaign to win the 2021 UK City of Culture title. [12] In April 2018, Chenine Bhathena was appointed Creative Director for Coventry's year as UK City of Culture 2021. [12] [13] [14]
In July 2020, it was announced that the City of Culture events in Coventry would be delayed by five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [15] The opening event Coventry Moves was planned to take place on 15 May 2021. [16] However, though Coventry took the title on 15 May, the signature opening event was pushed back to 5 June. [17]
Coventry Atlas, a local history and contemporary culture map, launched in 2021. As of April 2024 [update] , the map contains 5,676 records, 180 collections, nine walking trails and 40 historical map overlays. [18]
The map is a collaboration between Coventry University, Culture Coventry and the Coventry City of Culture Trust. Coventry Atlas was developed as part of the Coventry Great Place Scheme funded by the Heritage Fund, Arts Council England and Historic England with partner funding from Coventry City Council, the University of Warwick, Coventry University, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Coventry’s Business Improvement District. [19]
Coventry Moves was the opening event of the year, which saw "the city transformed, rising from adversity in a spectacular performance". It was co-directed by Justine Themen and Nigel Jamieson. [16]
Terry Hall, lead singer of Coventry band The Specials will run a three-day music event in July 2021. [20] [21]
The Turner Prize for visual arts is due to be hosted at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum from 29 September 2021 to 12 January 2022. The four shortlisted artists will present a new work at the Herbert during the year. [22] [23]
Faith is a 24-hour-long piece of theatre that will take place in September, jointly produced by the Coventry City of Culture Trust and the Royal Shakespeare Company. It will consist of a story told through "music, theatre, installation and ritual" with opportunities for the audience to join in. [24]
Information about people and places in Coventry was added to Wikipedia by volunteers organised by the Disruptive Media Learning Lab of Coventry University and its Wikimedian-in-Residence, Andy Mabbett. This took place at a series of online events in April and May 2021. [25]
An international exhibition at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum exploring the role of the artist in response to natural history and climate change. This started at the opening of the festival and continued into August. [26]
The BBC's coverage of Coventry as UK City of Culture included special episodes of Antiques Roadshow and Hospital filmed in the city, and documentaries such as Classic British Cars: Made in Coventry and Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and the Legendary Tapes. [27] BBC Local Radio station BBC CWR's The 21 initiative told stories of local people, [28] and the BBC's Contains Strong Language spoken word festival will be hosted in the city. [29] The UnNatural History exhibition was mentioned on the Woman's Hour programme on BBC Radio 4. [30]
On 31 December 2024, Coventry’s tenure of the City of Culture will come to an end and Bradford will take over the mantle of UK City of Culture, which will begin on 1 January 2025.
West Midlands is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the larger West Midlands region of England. A landlocked county, it is bordered by Staffordshire to the north and west, Worcestershire to the south, and is surrounded by Warwickshire to the east. The largest settlement is the city of Birmingham.
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington, is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following the popularisation of its water which was reputed to have medicinal qualities. In the 19th century, the town experienced one of the most rapid expansions in England. It is named after the River Leam, which flows through the town.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. Its main offices are at 100 Parliament Street, occupying part of the building known as Government Offices Great George Street.
Warwickshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire to the south, and Worcestershire and the West Midlands county to the west. The largest settlement is Nuneaton and the county town is Warwick.
North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. The borough includes the two towns of Atherstone and Coleshill, and the large villages of Hartshill, Kingsbury, Mancetter, Polesworth and Water Orton along with smaller villages and surrounding rural areas.
Whitnash is a town and civil parish located southeast of, and contiguous with Leamington Spa and Warwick in Warwickshire, England. In 2001, it had a population of 7,760 which increased to 9,129 in the 2011 census, increasing again to 10,489 in the 2021 census.
BBC CWR is the BBC's local radio station serving Coventry and Warwickshire.
The Coventry Building Society Arena is a complex in Coventry, West Midlands, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currently home to football team, Championship club Coventry City F.C. along with facilities which include a 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft) exhibition hall, a hotel and a casino. The site is also home to Arena Park Shopping Centre, containing one of UK's largest Tesco Extra hypermarkets. Built on the site of the Foleshill gasworks, it is named after its sponsor, Coventry Building Society who entered into a ten-year sponsorship deal in 2021. For the 2012 Summer Olympics, where stadium naming sponsorship was forbidden, the stadium was known as the City of Coventry Stadium.
The Godiva Festival is a three-day music festival held each year in the War Memorial Park, Coventry, England, named after the city's famous former inhabitant Lady Godiva. It first appeared as a day-long event in 1997 and became a three-day event the following year in 1998. It is the largest family music festival in the UK, and is made up of two fields; a Main Field and a Family field, which each offer a different experience.
The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built in Britain after the Second World War and is now a Grade II listed building.
Herbert Art Gallery & Museum is a museum, art gallery, records archive, learning centre, media studio and creative arts facility on Jordan Well, Coventry, England.
The Blue Coat Church of England School is a specialist secondary school and sixth form located in Coventry, England. It is an International Cross Of Nails (ICON) school, with links to schools all over the world. The school is funded by the state, with academy status. It is a specialist Music, Maths and Science academy.
Stuart Linnell MBE BAHons HonMA is a semi-retired UK radio and television broadcaster, particularly well known in Coventry and Warwickshire, and in Northamptonshire. He is Chair of Healthwatch Coventry, and Chair of Coventry Community Digital Radio.
UK City of Culture is a designation given to a city in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration for the year. The UK-wide programme, which is administered by the UK Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in collaboration with the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, is to "build on the success of Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture 2008, which had significant social and economic benefits for the area". Bids solely in Greater London are excluded from the competition, although boroughs and places in the UK capital may submit a joint bid with a city or place outside of Greater London.
Neil Francis Jeremy Mendoza, Baron Mendoza, is a British businessman, academic administrator, and member of the House of Lords.
Hull UK City of Culture 2017 was a designation given to the city of Kingston upon Hull, England, between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2020 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The designation means that Hull gains access to funding to improve its infrastructure and arts facilities, and will host a series of events celebrating local culture. Hull was selected in 2013 to become the second UK City of Culture since the initiative began in 2013, succeeding Derry.
Daniel Fardon is a British composer of contemporary classical music.
Justine Themen is a theatre director who has lived and worked in Coventry since 2003. She is currently deputy artistic director of the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, as well as being a co-artistic director of the Belgrade's 2021 City of Culture programme.
Bradford UK City of Culture 2025 is a designation given to Bradford, England, between 2025 and 2029 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The designation means that Bradford gains access to funding to improve its infrastructure and arts facilities, and will host a series of events celebrating local culture starting in 2025 for twelve months. Bradford won the designation on 31 May 2022, winning over bids from County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough to become the fourth UK City of Culture since the programme began in 2013, following Derry~Londonderry, Hull, and Coventry, as well as the second in Yorkshire. The 2025 bidding contest was launched on 29 May 2021, and was the first contest since 2013 open to local areas in the United Kingdom receiving twenty bids by July 2021.
The bidding process for UK City of Culture 2025 was the process to award the designation UK City of Culture to a city or area in the United Kingdom, in which the winner hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration throughout 2025. The title is awarded by the UK Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The 2025 City of Culture is the fourth city to hold the title since the programme began in 2013, following those of Derry~Londonderry, Hull, and Coventry. The competition for the 2025 holder was launched on 29 May 2021, with the deadline to submit bids being 19 July 2021. On 18 March 2022, Bradford, County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough were the last four shortlisted bids in the competition. On 31 May 2022, Bradford was announced as the winning bid, with the three runners-up receiving £125,000, the first time the runners-up receive a prize.