Hull UK City of Culture 2017

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Hull UK City of Culture 2017
Hull CoC black and white.jpeg
Date1 January 2017 (2017-01-01) to 31 December 2020 (2020-12-31)
Duration1 year
Location Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Also known asHull 2017
Type UK City of Culture
Theme"A city coming out of the shadows"
PredecessorDerry~Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013
Successor Coventry UK City of Culture 2021
Website www.hull2017.co.uk

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.

Contents

Background

UK City of Culture is an event held once every four years, highlighting one location in the UK and promoting arts and culture as a means of celebration and regeneration. The aim of the initiative, which is administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 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". [1] The inaugural holder of the award was Derry in 2013 to 2017.

Bidding and selection process

After Derry/Londonderry in 2013, the next UK City of Culture was scheduled for 2017. Officials from Aberdeen stated they would bid for the title, [2] as did officials from Dundee, [3] while local officials from Colchester, [4] Derby, [5] Leicester, [6] Plymouth, [7] Stoke-on-Trent, [8] Swansea, [9] Hull, [10] and York [11] suggested that those cities would bid for the 2017 title. On 18 April 2013, the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce announced that Portsmouth and Southampton were making a joint bid for the 2017 title. [12] There was also a bid from East Kent (Canterbury, Ashford, Folkestone, Dover and Thanet), [13] and another from Hastings and Bexhill-on-Sea, supported by celebrity Graham Norton. [14]

In June 2013 the shortlist of four bids from Dundee, Hull, Leicester and Swansea Bay was announced. [15] The winner of the 2017 title was announced on 20 November 2013 and Hull was chosen. [16] TV producer Phil Redmond, who chaired the City of Culture panel, said Hull was the unanimous choice because it put forward "the most compelling case based on its theme as 'a city coming out of the shadows'". On 31 July 2014, Martin Green was announced as chief executive of the team. Green was previously head of ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympics, and organised the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ ceremony in Yorkshire. [17]

Season 1: Made in Hull

The first three-month season was intended to focus on the contribution of the city to art, industry and ideas. [18]

Hull City Hall illuminated at the opening event for Hull City of Culture 2017 event Hull City Hall illuminated at the opening event for Hull City of Culture 2017 event 5.jpg
Hull City Hall illuminated at the opening event for Hull City of Culture 2017 event

On 1 January 2017, the Hull event opened with a fireworks display over the Humber Estuary and a series of sound and light installations which reportedly attracted more than 25,000 visitors. [19] [20] By the end of the first week, the BBC was reporting that 342,000 people had participated in the opening events. [21] The event included multimedia sound and light projections onto landmark buildings in the city's Victoria Square [22] as well as a display of Hullywood Icons featuring local people recreating famous scenes from film. [23]

Season 2: Roots and Routes

The season from April to June 2017 focused on Hull as a gateway, a place of movement to and through, a celebration of migration and flux. [18]

Season 3: Freedom

The third season explored the role Hull played in the emancipation movement, building on the contribution of William Wilberforce and the existing suite of summer festivals in Hull, including the Freedom Festival. [18] At the Freedom Festival, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was awarded the Wilberforce Medallion and gave the Wilberforce Lecture at Hull City Hall, which celebrates the historic role of Hull and Wilberforce in combating the abuse of human rights. [24] [25]

The 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality was marked as part of LGBT 50, [26] a series of events which included the title of 'UK Pride' being awarded to Pride in Hull. [27]

Season 4: Tell the World

The closing season from October to December 2017 looked forwards and attempted to redefine the city for the future, building on the legacy of its year as UK City of Culture. [18]

The 2017 Turner Prize was held in Hull on 5 December 2017. [28]

Finale

On 31 December 2020, Hull’s tenure of the City of Culture came to an end and Coventry took over the mantle of UK City of Culture, which began in June 2021.

Volunteers

Group of volunteers Hull City of Culture Volunteers.jpg
Group of volunteers

The events constituting all the seasons of City of Culture were staffed by volunteers working alongside paid staff.

From an initial 120 Pioneer Volunteers recruited in March 2016 through various Wave 1, 2, 3 and 4 recruitment drives, a total of 2,500 individual volunteers were signed up. Volunteers wore a uniform designed and provided by local company Arco, consisting of black trousers or shorts, blue polo shirt, jacket, baseball cap and purple backpack. Arco described the colours as 'scandalous blue', 'ludicrous purple' and 'mischievous pink'. [29] These made all volunteers easily identifiable and approachable by members of the public looking for assistance and advice.

Impact

The BBC reported that a report by University of Hull in March 2018 found Hull's status as the UK City of Culture attracted more than five million people, £220 million of investment and 800 new jobs. [30] [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston upon Hull</span> City in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, 25 miles (40 km) inland from the North Sea and 37 miles (60 km) south-east of York, the historic county town. With a population of 268,852 (2022), it is the fourth-largest city in the Yorkshire and the Humber region after Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Capital of Culture</span> Cities recognized by the European Union as culturally significant for Europe

A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can be an opportunity for a city to generate considerable cultural, social, and economic benefits, and it can help foster urban regeneration, change the city's image, and raise its visibility and profile on an international scale. Multiple cities can be a European Capital of Culture simultaneously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Hull</span> University in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England

The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull York Medical School, a joint initiative with the University of York. Students are served by Hull University Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Gardens, Kingston upon Hull</span> Gardens in Kingston upon Hull, England

Queen's Gardens is a sequence of gardens in the centre of Kingston upon Hull, England. They are set out within a 9.75-acre (4 ha) area that until 1930 was filled with the waters of Queen's Dock. As the dock was not fully filled in, the gardens are largely below the level of the surrounding streets.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hull New Theatre</span> Theatre in Kingston upon Hull, England

The Hull New Theatre is a theatre in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1939 as a successor to the Hull Repertory Theatre Company. The Hull New Theatre features musicals, opera, ballet, drama, children's shows and one-night performances, with a highlight of the year being the annual Christmas pantomime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hull College</span> Further education college in England

Hull College is a Further Education and Higher Education establishment based in Kingston upon Hull, England.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom Festival, Hull</span> Music and performance arts festival held annually in Kingston upon Hull, England

The Freedom Festival is an annual music and performance arts festival held in the city of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is named in honour of the slave trade abolitionist, MP and son of Hull, William Wilberforce. The festival was established in 2007 to mark the 200th anniversary of Wilberforce's law, the Slave Trade Act 1807, to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK City of Culture</span> Cultural designation in the United Kingdom

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Óglaigh na hÉireann (Real IRA splinter group)</span> 2009–2018 Irish republican paramilitary group

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Stephen Iain Kingsley is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Falkirk, Swansea City, and Hull City, as well as appearing for Yeovil Town and Crewe Alexandra on loan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swansea Bay City Region</span> City region in Wales

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Made in Hull</span>

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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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pride in Hull</span> Annual LGBT event in Hull, England

Pride in Hull is an annual LGBT Pride celebration held in the city of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It takes the form of a parade followed by a large scale day-long music festival. Pride in Hull is organised by a board of volunteers, operating as the registered charity Hull LGBT+ Community Pride.

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