Factsheet : Wrexham UK City of Culture 2025 bid

Together let’s raise the bar on our ambition

wrecsam2025.com (website)

#Wrecsam2025 (our #tag)

Becoming UK City of Culture 2025

UK City of Culture is a competition run by DCMS – UK department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
UK City of Culture and City Status bids are two completely different competitions.
This is the first time that UK City of Culture bid has been open to non-cities, allowing towns and regions to apply-so we jumped at the chance
Wrexham’s bid covers the entire county, not just the town
Wrexham is the only region in Wales through to the longlist of areas competing for UK City of Culture 2025 title.
The next stage of the UK City of Culture competition is in February when a further submission will take place to the judges – the finalists will then shrink from 8 to 3…but our ultimate goal is to progress even further and win this competition for Wrexham!
Winning the competition would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for a transformational change, bringing investment, jobs, pride and an international audience to see how awesome we are- as well as having a long lasting legacy once our year of hosting is finished.
Our #Wrecsam2025 logo ‘colour splash’ represents coal dust as a nod to our industrial past, while the colours used are to represent the vibrancy and diversity of every single one of us who lives, works and plays in Wrexham.
Our logo also prominently features the Welsh spelling of ‘Wrecsam’ – We’re Welsh, We speak Welsh, and always encourage its use.
We’re encouraging individuals to share their experiences of what they think’s awesome about Wrexham by using the #tag #Wrecsam2025
This could really be an “I was there” moment for the region.

Economic benefits:

Wrexham will be seen as a region to invest before, during and after hosting both from outside investment, and within Wrexham.
Wrexham and surrounding areas will see a boost in tourism as a result.
Our regions covid recovery will be assisted with increased footfall for the county and in the town centre
Being hosts of UK City of Culture 2025 will further raise our international profile
Hull saw investment of around £219million as hosts in 2017, as well as generating 800 jobs as a direct result of hosting

Further benefits:

Wrexham will be the UK focus for culture.
We’ll raise the bar on our ambitions creating positive changes in the perception of Wrexham both domestically, and to the world.
It’s our chance to show the world who we are and what we are made of- hosting will lead to increased community engagement and social inclusion
Previous winners have hosted The Mobo Awards, Turner Art Prize and the Radio 1’s big weekend
Wrexham winning would mean the award would come to Wales for the first time

OUR BID

A Wrexham City of Culture 2025 bid team has been set up by Wrexham County Borough Council and they are working hard on the next stage of the bid.
There will be further community engagement, consultation and events.
If successful, a standalone trust will be set up to run Wrexham City of Culture
Our bid is based on 6 areas of focus: