The end of last week saw some really positive news for
Cornwall after we had confirmation that our bid for Cornwall to be the UK City
of Culture for 2025 passed its first hurdle and has moved onto the next stage.
The competition, delivered by the Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport uses culture as a catalyst for levelling up areas
outside London and putting new parts of the UK on the cultural map
internationally.
Entrants have been tasked with proving that they can put
culture at the heart of their plans to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
That we are allowed to bid as a ‘city’ is a positive move in
itself, as while Truro is by default, Cornwall’s City of Culture, allowing the
whole Duchy to be included in the bid together is particularly advantageous. Basically
we can pull together not only everything that is special about Truro as a city,
but then all the best bits from the rest of Cornwall, of which there is a
massive supply, and put together a truly amazing bid.
Our bid, Cornwall 2025: Leading from the Edge, builds on
Cornwall’s strong culture and heritage as well as our world class superfast
broadband connectivity to accelerate the growth of our strong and nationally
significant Creative Industries cluster, especially in film, gaming, virtual
reality and theatre.
The theme of our bid; People, Place and Planet is focussed
on our distinctive environment and a cultural response to climate change and
the transition to carbon neutrality. This is the challenge of our age and we
plan to use this and Cornwall’s powerful global brand to turn UK City of
Culture into a global event with real purpose.
Our recent hosting of the G7, in partnership with UK
Government, has highlighted our capability to deliver large scale events in the
global spotlight and our cultural institutions featured strongly with visits
from leaders from across the World. Similarly, the start of this year’s Tour of
Britain cycling race was a triumph of public participation.
I look forward to working with all involved to develop our
offer and demonstrating what everyone who lives, works here and visits already
knows - that Cornwall is the creative and culture capital of the UK.
One venue that I am sure will add a great deal to both Truro
and Cornwall’s cultural offer both in the short and long term is the
refurbished Hall for Cornwall, which is due to reopen very shortly.
This project is something I have worked on very closely
since my election in 2019, helping it get Government funding to remain on track
during the pandemic and inviting senior government figures down to see the
progress for themselves.
As well as a larger 1,300 seat auditorium, new performance
spaces and cafes and bars, the transformed building will host an area for
creative businesses to work together and grow, and new creative spaces for
young people. Together the project is
forecast to add £35.6 million to the local economy and create 165 jobs.
I am delighted to see scaffolding being removed from Lemon
Quay as I type, and this beautiful building restored to its prominence in
Truro. My very best of luck to Julien Boast and his team for opening night and
beyond, and I look forward to seeing the Hall for Cornwall once again being our
premier entertainment venue going forward.
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