Dear Colleague
Unboxed: Creativity in the UK & City of Culture
We committed to delivering a festival for Great Britain and Northern Ireland and today I am delighted to inform you that today we announced Unboxed: Creativity in the UK. It is a ground-breaking UK-wide celebration of creativity for 2022 that will bring people together and reach millions through free, spectacular installations and globally accessible digital experiences in one of the UK’s most ambitious showcases of creative collaboration. Created by some of the brightest talents in science, technology, engineering, arts and maths, Unboxed features ten jaw-dropping projects across the UK, from Inverness to Dover and from Omagh to Caernarfon, from 1 March to 2 October 2022. This seven month festival will champion the nation’s creative ability and give people days out that they will remember for years to come. The programme of events will also engage hundreds of thousands of school children, young people and communities through extensive school outreach and volunteering roles.
As Culture Secretary I am determined that everyone, everywhere should have the opportunity to experience world-leading arts and culture regardless of their background, and Unboxed is central to this. Backed by £120 million of government funding, it will touch all corners of the UK. Most of the events will occur in multiple locations to help them reach the biggest audience possible. Please join me in spreading the word by finding out which projects will involve your local area and opportunities for constituents to get involved at unboxed2022.uk. I hope that you will join me in supporting Unboxed to celebrate the UK’s creativity and bring people together as we recover from the pandemic. I look forward to keeping you updated as plans continue to progress into next year.
As well as Unboxed, next year, the UK will Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and host the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, while Coventry continues as the UK’s City of Culture. 2022 will be a year of pride and celebration and an opportunity for the nation to come together following the Covid-19 pandemic. These showstopper events will also drive tourism, support jobs and businesses and provide a platform for the UK to shine on a global stage. In May we will reveal the winner of the 2025 UK City of Culture competition. A record 20 places across the UK applied for the coveted title this year, highlighting the transforming power of culture in places. I continue to be impressed by the high quality of ideas and ambition in all of the bids and I want to thank everyone for the time, hard work and effort that went into them. I recently announced the eight longlisted places: Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Bradford, Cornwall, County Durham, Derby, Southampton, Stirling and Wrexham County Borough.
For the first time, I am delighted to confirm they will receive £40,000 to support the development of their full applications and I welcome your ongoing support for the competition. Culture is a vital tool in this government’s central mission: to unite and level up the country. I am committed to supporting all places who want to put culture at the heart of their recovery plans and will be holding a roundtable for the unsuccessful bidders to discuss their ambitions. I welcome your ongoing support for the competition.
