Portsmouth named on UK City of Culture 2029 Longlist
Published: March 24 2026
Portsmouth is one step closer to becoming UK City of Culture 2029 after being named on the longlist for the competition alongside nine other cities.
The bid aims to showcase the city’s creativity, heritage and ambition on a national stage and reflects Portsmouth long-term vision for the city to be rich in culture and creativity by 2040, where collaboration, community and innovation thrive. Cultural regeneration will sit at the heart of the bid, driving economic growth and skills, improving wellbeing and creating opportunities for all.
Portsmouth Creates are leading the bid, with the support of Portsmouth City Council and other partners around the city. Collectively they aim to reflect the transformative power that culture and creativity can bring to a place, with community voice centre stage.
The Expression of Interest was submitted in early February after over 100 hours of consultation was completed by the team. This included both in person and online work, reaching over 3000 Portsmouth residents from across the city. The longlist of nine cities has been announced and will be further reduced to a shortlist in Summer later this year.
The support from the city and the community so far has been exceptional, and now its time for us to show our competitors that Portsmouth is joined up and ready to go!
Other cities also placed on the longlist are:
- Blackpool
- Inverness-Highland
- Ipswich
- Middlesborough
- Milton Keynes
- Sheffield
- Swindon
- Wrexham
Find out more: https://wearepompey2029.co.uk/