Southampton City of Culture 2025 bid revealed in full

A 30-page document entitled Make it SO reveals the details behind the £1.5 million three-year campaign which made Southampton the first city on the South Coast to reach the final, eventually losing out to Bradford.

It reveals the desire to 'make Southampton a place to come to, not through' while 'renewing the city's spirit'.

READ MORE: The many reasons why Southampton is a great place to live

The document reads: "There will be a buzz about Southampton: there will be more opportunity, more to enjoy. We will feel proud of ourselves and our city. We will make waves, regionally, nationally and internationally."

A programme of live events to celebrate 365 days as the UK's City of Culture would have included a performance of Henry V by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the immersive art experience Step Inside, a floating show including a flotilla of international vessels, and a high-flying circus event during the opening weekend.

A Minecraft building project for youngsters to reimagine the future of the city, a choreographed light projection across Southampton landmarks, a new inclusive city festival Queertonia, and a collaboration with Titanic Belfast on our common story of the 1912 maritime tragedy would also have featured.

Also in the offing was a light trail around Riverside Park, 100 years of Southampton's social history told through jazz and The Fishcotheque, an innovative art installation based on the sounds of the seas.

Plans were in place for a re-imagining of Guildhall Square through a joint commission with London's Somerset House, as well as neighbourhood hubs in five areas currently lacking cultural provision.

A new Creative Land Trust in Old Northam Road and a Southampton Creative Enterprise Zone would 'give more graduates more reasons to stay in Southampton to build their lives and businesses here'.

In stating the case for Southampton to be the UK City of Culture 2025, Make it SO reports: "The bid consultation has electrified civic leaders, local entrepreneurs, businesses, health care experts, artists, young people and Southampton’s diverse communities.

"Being UK City of Culture will expand our horizons and open the way to economic and social change. 2025 will be the year to celebrate our diversity, give respect to our different traditions, give voice to our stories, transform opportunities for the under-represented, and reach out to the world. We will find a new pride in ourselves.

"As much as the physical regeneration of our infrastructure, we need regeneration of the city’s spirit. Culture can do that. The bid consultation … uncovered widespread feelings of exclusion and lack of confidence.

"The award of UK City of Culture and 365 days of cultural events will give us the means to improve city life, lift spirits, transform the way we see ourselves, and how others see us. There will be changes to the cityscape …The real challenge is to change minds."

The document reveals the bid process began in 2018 with a conference of 250 city representatives.

Following unanimous cross-party support, it was one of the largest consultations ever undertaken in the city and involved 149 hours of consultation with more than 1,000 people in virtual workshops, 16 cross-sector working groups and residents and councillors in each of 16 electoral wards.

An impressive 82 per cent of respondents to the city survey supported the bid.

It was needed because 13.5 per cent of over 16s in Southampton have long-term mental health challenges, nearly 4 per cent above the national average, and only 40.7 per cent of pupils achieve grade five or above in English and Maths, compared to 49.9 per cent nationally.

Going forward, Southampton Culture Trust plan to re-package elements of the bid to be rolled out over the next three years, albeit at a different scale and pace, to maximise the legacy of the bidding process.

The planned significant Spitfire Monument, in Mayflower Park, commemorating active service and engineering innovation, could still be in place by 2025 with various heritage assets also due for restoration.

The overall objectives are to boost tourism and the local economy; make Southampton more attractive to inward investors and make the city a better place in which to live, work, visit and play.

Claire Whitaker, CBE, CEO of Southampton Culture Trust, said: "Our feedback during the process was that the city’s bid was exceptional and now it gives us great pleasure and a sense of pride to release the bid to everyone.

"More than anything the process of going through the bid has energised not only the city of Southampton but the whole region where we have the support of all our neighbours.”

The document, which excludes confidential financial content following consultation with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is available at southampton2025.co.uk

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