UK City of Culture 2025
UK City of Culture 2025 is a designation set to be awarded to a city or area in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the selected bid hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration throughout 2025. The title will be awarded to the winner of the bidding competition for the title by the UK Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The 2025 City of Culture will be the fourth city to hold the title since the UK City of Culture programme began in 2013, following  those of Derry~Londonderry, Hull, and Coventry. The programme for the 2025 holder was launched on 29 May 2021, with deadline to submit bids being 19 July 2021. , Bradford, County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough are the only four bids still in the competition. Bidding process. By the deadline at the end of July 2021, it was reported that a record number of cities and areas had submitted bids to hold the title of UK City of Culture 2025, with the total reaching twenty, a quarter of which are from Wales. The then Secretary of State for Digital , Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden MP, stated that the sheer number of applicants for the title was a "testament to the huge success of City of Culture". The 2025 bidding competition has allowed for the first time, bids from regions, areas and places, including groups of towns across one or multiple local authorities, and even across the borders of the constituent countries. Those long-listed have been awarded £40,000 to support their bid progressing to the next stage of the competition. The holder was set to be announced in December 2021, but was postponed due to the number  of applicants, with a longlist released on 8 October 2021, a final shortlist of bidders was released on 18 March 2022, and the 2025 holder is scheduled to be announced by the current Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nadine Dorries in May 2022. The competition is judged by Sir Phil Redmond, chair of the expert advisory panel for the UK City of Culture 2025 competition, who will lead visits to each bidder prior to the final announcement. Shortlisted bids. On 18 March 2022, four bids of the eight which remained on the October 2021 longlist, was  announced. No bids from Scotland and Northern Ireland made onto the shortlist. The four bids, three from England, and one from Wales are as follows: Failed longlisted bids. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, released the list all of bidders who applied to bid for the title on 20 August 2021, totaling to 20 cities and areas. The longlist of bids was released on 8 October 2021, totaling to 8 cities and areas.