City turns back on culture crown

Civic chiefs in Bath have pulled out of the race to become the first-ever UK City of Culture. The city was yesterday named by Government officials on a list of 29 areas which had “put themselves forward as potential candidates” for the moneyspinning accolade. But within 24 hours, Bath and North East Somerset Council announced it would not be submitting a formal bid. It said putting together a bid would be too expensive at a time when public spending would be facing tight curbs. The winning city would host a string of glittering events including the Turner Prize, The Brits and the TV Baftas, in the year 2013. Plans for a UK City of Culture emerged following Liverpool’s success in a similar European competition, which is said to have brought 3.5 million extra visitors to the city over the year. The expanding European border means a British city will not have the opportunity to compete for the European title again until 2032 at the earliest. Today a spokesman for the council said: “'The resources required to assemble a bid are significant. Bath and North East Somerset Council must prioritise its resources to deliver the high quality local services that residents expect and meet significant challenges alongside our partners, such as regenerating our local economy. “Therefore, as well as our neighbours Bristol City Council, we will not be entering a bid. At no stage has the council indicated an intention to the Government to bid for the City of Culture.” The Department of Culture, Media and Sport put out the list ahead of a seminar on the project which took place yesterday. A DCMS spokesman said it was unaware that B&NES was no longer interested. “They did not attend the seminar yesterday but, when asked, did confirm that they wanted to remain in the running. “At this stage these are 'expressions of interest' rather than formal bids.”