"Coventry's streets to shape City of Culture if victorious"

[dutchman]

City unveils some of the details in its bid document as it continues campaign to win 2021 crown


Mikey Baxter from The Jade Studio and Laura McMillan, manager of the Coventry City of Culture Trust

The streets of Coventry will be given the chance to shape and showcase City of Culture should it win the bid for 2021.

The city's initial bid document for the prize is now being judged and, while the programme remains largely under wraps, the team has revealed some of the ideas it hopes will help to clinch the title.

More than 200 projects have been submitted so far alongside workshops with people from all over the city.

One element of the programme, should the bid be successful, would see the celebrations take to the streets as part of Coventry's first ever Streets of Cultures celebration - an opportunity for communities to take the spotlight and take part in City of Culture outside their own doors.

A city-wide celebration would see 21 streets given the means to explore what City of Culture could look like to them which could be anything from front garden landscaping by an artist to a documentary film about their road.

The project has been devised to create lasting relationships between neighbours and communities, decreasing isolation and increasing pride.

Another programme idea submitted as part of the bid is a week-long Shop Front Festival which would take over shops in the city centre with dance, lighting, music, visual art and performance from Coventry, the UK, Europe and the US.

Artists Julia Negus, Chris O'Connell and others are now working with the business improvement district to look at how they could make the festival in 2021.

The team behind the bid has also revealed its idea to create the Coventry Ring Road poem - the first 2.2 mile poem that can only be experienced in full by travelling around the ring road.

Programme co-ordinator Emma Harrabin said: "Although we are able to release some of the exciting ideas that are coming out of the city, we are in a competition so must keep most of our cards close to our chest.

"We are still open to new ideas and our work in the community will continue right up to the submission of a final bid document in the hope we are shortlisted in June.

"Although we will only be able to include 30 to 40 ideas in the document itself, we expect the year itself to consist of over 1,000 events so this is just the beginning.

"We have been blown away by the ambition and creativity that has come out of the city already and are excited to see how the programme continues to progress."

[Melisandre]

If any street looks like where they are standing out side they have no chance unless its some one on drugs judging psychodelic drugs at that gastley colours.

[rebbonk]

Sorry to be a party pooper, but it all sounds cr*p to me. It's cheap tat, it's not culture.

[Melisandre]

I agree Rebbonk I would like to know where any culture is here in these times may in the past but notthing here now they have just made this city dull drab no where to go nothing interesting except from years ago of our history and I dont see any of that on show eg things made by Cashs etc etc.

[dutchman]

'Once in a lifetime' Coventry UK City of Culture bid submitted today



COVENTRY’S final bid to be UK City of Culture in 2021 has been submitted.

The Coventry City of Culture Trust, the team behind Coventry’s bid to bring the coveted title to the city, have filed the 30-page document with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

It includes a wide-reaching programme that would ensure that the whole of the city gets the opportunity to experience and enjoy a wide-range of cultural events and moments throughout 2021.

The bid is also designed to attract visitors to the city, which is within two hours’ journey of 40 million people, throughout the year and that could be worth around £100m to the tourism industry in the region.

Coventry is up against Paisley, Stoke, Sunderland and Swansea for the title.

Laura McMillan, manager of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, said the time was right for Coventry to tell its story to the world.

She added: “Two years of work have gone into this bid and we couldn’t be more proud of the city or more grateful to everyone who has played a part in it.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Coventry to tell its story of reinvention, of resilience, of peace and reconciliation and of youth and diversity to the whole world so we really need this for the city in 2021.”

The bid was delivered to the DCMS by Laura and representatives from Positive Youth Foundation, which is based in Hillfields.

They were joined by a city-made London Taxi, with support from London EV Company, which has been turned into a work of art called ‘The Coventry Knowledge’ as part of a two-week artist residency at Coventry Transport Museum.

Laura added: “We have all seen the huge positive impact UK City of Culture has had in Hull and we want Coventry to build on the fantastic year that they have staged.

“We have the utmost respect for the four other shortlisted cities – but really feel that this is our time, that our story needs to be told and that Coventry deserves to win this.

“We will continue to do everything we possibly can to make sure everyone knows how much we want this for our city and the lasting legacy it would leave.”

Following the bid being submitted, Coventry will be visited by the judges in October before presenting to them in December in Hull.

The winner will be announced in December.