Just as well that Cornwall Council pulled the plug earlier this year on Truro’s bid to be the European Capital of Culture in 2023.

The Council had originally approved of the application, which would have cost the public purse around £500k. However, in June the new leader of the Council, Adam Paynter, officially dropped the bid, saying there was too little time to prepare.

The decision appears to have been fortuitous, with Brussels today (Nov 23) saying that no British city can be European Capital of Culture after Brexit.

Apparently, the scheme is only open to EU countries – despite Istanbul, Reykjavík and Stavanger in Norway having all been European Capitals of Culture in the past, despite not being part of the EU.

The news will comes as a blow to Dundee, Nottingham, Leeds, Milton Keynes and Belfast/Derry, who had all expressed an interest in being the 2023 host.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Yes, let’s talk Cornwall down again shall we? Cornwall Council’s idea of saving Cornwall is to spend £75k on hiring consultants from Yorkshire who are telling us to “concentrate on pasties and Poldark”. How patronising is that? Current CC policies seem bent on keeping Cornwall with a seasonal and low wage economy where much of the wealth is taken elsewhere, no wonder young people are leaving in droves. Planners allow new builds for those with deep pockets while ignoring the needs of many locals who have no chance of having their own home. Where is the infrastructure? Hospitals are closing, roads are clogged with endless traffic, whole streets of holiday homes lie empty for months and we are stuck with Costa and MacDonalds in one of our newest service areas. Hull has had a very successful year as City of Culture but our Council had no vision and could not see beyond the tired mass tourist market.

  2. Whether made official or otherwise, that was always going to be the case, which exposes the naivety applied to considering a bid in the first place.

    A bid which was promoted by Cornwall Council with the full support of the LEP. Is the same level of naivety being applied to other grand plans to save Cornwall again?

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