Stockton Town Centre has reached the final 15 in the first UK Town of Culture competition, and local people are being asked to help decide what the town should celebrate in its 2028 bid.
Nearly 400 places applied for the new national title. Stockton is now one of five shortlisted towns in its size category and will receive a £60,000 development from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to prepare the next stage.
What the title could bring
The overall winner will receive £3 million to deliver a major cultural programme during 2028. The best small, medium and large towns will first be selected as finalists; the two that do not take the overall title will each receive £250,000 to deliver parts of their plans.
The competition is intended to help towns tell their own stories, widen access to art and performance, and use culture to support local pride and economic opportunity. Finalists and the winning town are expected to be announced in summer 2027.
A bid built around local voices
Stockton’s proposal is being led by the Stockton Community Collective alongside Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The collective brings together more than 40 organisations, artists, performers and residents from the cultural, community, education and business sectors.
The council is inviting residents to answer three practical questions: what makes Stockton special, what should the town celebrate, and what could a year as UK Town of Culture make possible for its communities? Contributions can be small suggestions, personal stories or larger ideas. People do not need to work in the arts to take part.
What Stockton can draw on
The town’s case combines with a busy cultural life. The Stockton and Darlington Railway helped begin the passenger railway age 200 years ago. Stockton was also the home of friction-match inventor John Walker, while landing craft used in the D-Day campaign were built locally.
Today, the town centre includes the Globe, ARC, KU and the Georgian Theatre, alongside Stockton International Riverside Festival and venues and creative groups. The new Stockton Waterfront urban park has also reconnected the High Street with the River Tees, adding event space, play areas, gardens, public art and an amphitheatre to the centre of town.
The bid is therefore not only about securing a national title. Its next stage asks how existing venues, festivals, artists and neighbourhood projects could work together, people who do not usually attend organised arts events and leave something useful after 2028.
How to have a say
Ideas can be submitted through the council’s UK Town of Culture page, which links to the . The Stockton Community Collective is gathering views during September and October through conversations, workshops and cultural activities. The invitation is open to anyone with a connection to the town centre and an idea worth sharing.
Some separate event listings connected with the bid currently give conflicting dates, so this article does not repeat them. The council’s page is the safest place to share an idea and follow confirmed opportunities as the bid develops.