Which UK city would be most worthy of culture award?

Well having never been to Derry i couldn't possibly comment there, but out of the other three, I would most likely nominate Birmingham, due to it's mixed ethnic population in comparison to the other two cities.

However (and I may be a little bias, I am still shocked that London is not on that short-list, it is the obvious choice in my book. No other city in the WORLD has such a wide and healthy variety of world culture and ethnicity. And it's influence on other countries and cities throughout the would speaks volumes.

I am not particularly patriotic, but London's history, architecture, heritage and cultural diversity, makes me proud to have lived and grown up there, ironically I ha to move away to realise this (being a former student).

When it comes to culture in the UK and indeed the world, London is the runaway winner.

Sheffield?
Culture?
Has some one been taking tablets?

None of the above is the short answer.

Out of these four only Norwich has anything resembling culture the rest are horrid industrial run down ugly dirty places, albeit some improvements have been made to Birmingham and Sheffield has stunning countryside around it.

So if we have to have a Yorkshire city why not York/Richmond or Harrogate, if we have to have a midlands city/town, why not Leamington/Warwick or Stratford.

Unbelievable.

Birmingham, without a doubt,

Can't give it to Londerry due to difficulties involved in what to call the festival without offending half the locals.

Sheffield's a mausoleum, an forgotten monument to Britain's dead manufacturing industry - poignant but hardly cause for a celebration.

The only good thing to come of Norwich is Alan Partridge - and he's fictional.

Which leaves us with Birmingham - vibrant, couple of theaters, many music venues of all sizes, some of the best shopping in the country, and, in the chineses quarter and our Curry houses some of the best eating in the country too.

Plus its slap bang in the middle of the country making it easy for the whole country to come along and enjoy the show.

Vote Birmingham.

I can think of a long list that certainly would not be in the running.

Can't we have an award for "Town with no culture" my pound land infested dive would walk it!

Our local council were concerned regarding the presence of a Theatre in the town centre so they knocked it down to leave a nice space for stray asda trolleys, vagrants and a beautiful view of the public toilets across the area where the local market used to stand before they knocked that down too!

It's not a matter of who is the best as the awarding usually goes to the city which needs the resulting economic and social benefits most. Does anybody seriously believe that Glasgow and Liverpool were made the European capital of culture in the past for any other reason. They are plenty of other cities which were much more deserving on a culture basis.
On the basis that the award tends to go to the most deprived City, the favourite has to be Londonderry, as it would definitely give a boost to the city and show that it isn't forgotten. However It might be seen as been a little bit out of the way, if it is it is likely to go to Sheffield.

Define "culture".

Londonderry, Birmingham, Norwich and Sheffield.... Uhm... None of them?

Did the other cities forget to apply?

Or are you talking about the type of culture that grows on yoghurt if you leave it long enough?

Well certainly not our capital London
I visited London this week to walk through garbage, a stink and hoards of flies while people tried to eat lunch outside on Villiers St. I wonder when the next plague will hit Britain.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Birmingham has given us heavy metal, Sheffield - Joe Cocker, ABC etc, Norwich - The Darkness, so if ever there was a city that needs a long term boost it has to be (London)Derry for the City of Culture, just thinking about which rock/pop acts came from there the only one that comes to mind is the Undertones and they were a long time ago, so they get my vote.

It is expected that the successful city will see economic and social benefits which could leave a lasting legacy although it will not receive any government funding.

I would like to know how these citys are going to raise money for this, with such massive impending cutbacks and with such HUGE impending job losses.

I doubt whether those who have recently managed to get a job could actually afford to attend arty things on a part time wage.

I would LIKE to see who will actually and FACTUALLY benefit because in Liverpool it was essentially ONLY a very small minority.

2. At 11:37am on 15 Jul 2010, RockingTheJoint wrote:

When it comes to culture in the UK and indeed the world, London is the runaway winner.

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Shhhh!! It's not PC to say that, even though you're quite right!

hmmm, there all a bit of a joke really dont you think? its just a fake sort of award. when I think of culture I think of Paris, Prague etc, some of the nicest most cultured cities in the UK I would say are Canterbury, Oxford, Chester, Bath, York and the like.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

I live in Norwich and would really love to see us win this. The arts scene in Norwich is incredible, from attracting large scale mainstream productions and artists, to individual homegrown artist. The diversity of the arts scene here is magnificent and so well supported, as anyone who has visited the annual Norfolk and Norwich festival will testify.

Good luck Norwich!

Further to my comment 13. At 12:12pm on 15 Jul 2010

Birmingham City Council estimates it will have to make £230m of savings during the next four years.

What is culture.

In substantive relevent terminology it is the elitist arty elite.

It is elite historical buildings, it is NOT the SLUMS and deprived areas in which so many live.

It is the elitist entertainment of the few, it is not the entertainment of deprived areas, otherwise will they have stolen car shows where kids and teenagers scream cars around neighbourhoods.

Maybe they could have a hoody fashion show including best & most popular weapons/knives.

How about competitions to see which gang can steal the most from shops in an hour.

How about best/worst looking junkie!

How about a happy slapping competition!

How about an online "My Life" live show, with cameras in the homes of a wide range of incomes and social levels/groups, including junkies.

What exactly is culture,.

Culture is basically a very thin veneer of differing/varient grades and visible physical looks. There is NOTHING substantial in culture that cannot be easily destroyed by human activity, the Nazis were just one example, religion is another, Thatchers/Tory policys is another.

I notice there are no Welsh or Scottish cities nominated. Typical.

I see the stuck up southerners are out in force condeming citys from the north as dirty, Sheffield and Birmingham are not dirty and both would make fine citys of culture. I get sick of everything going to London there is more to the UK than London. Scotland , NI, WALES and the north all have plenty to offer.

What is culture? How do you rate a City? What do they count, the number of Theaters, the number of Art Galleries, the number of back handers, or simply throw a dart at a map?

City of Culture seems to mean the opposite of what it says....

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

7. At 11:56am on 15 Jul 2010, David wrote

David has it spot on. The "award" goes to the most deprived city. Perhaps it should be re-named 'City hoping to get a bit of culture if they win.'

The social and economic benefits to lasgow and Liverpool were mainly the six-figure salaries awarded to the Chief Executives of the projects, wining and dining for the project teams, a fwe bits of meaningless sculpture and the opportunity for the local councils to congratulate themselves on how far they could get up each others backsides. Which does rather beg the question as to why London isn't on the list.
If it's "real" culture you're talking about then there is absolutely no need to waste millions trying to make it up, it's already indigenous to the place. Just look at Barnsley for example. . .

10. At 12:08pm on 15 Jul 2010, HonestMP wrote:

Well certainly not our capital London
I visited London this week to walk through garbage, a stink and hoards of flies while people tried to eat lunch outside on Villiers St. I wonder when the next plague will hit Britain.

...................................................................

Firstly there's flies everywhere, they're not just limited to London. Secondly I don't see who the consistency of flies and garbage has a direct effect on how cultural a place is. To reiterate my first comment, London by far has to most cultural diversity and following, not to mention it's impressive heritage.

Now you can call me bias, but name one other City in Europe or even the world which can equal or top London's standards of culture?

has anybody who commented on here actually set foot outside London and actually visited the city's concerned ????? London is not the centre of the universe!!!!!

I wouldn't associate any of those cities with culture.

Looks to me as though those four have been chosen because it would be too politically incorrect to choose the only city in the UK with any culture at all....London.

Bromley !

16. At 12:23pm on 15 Jul 2010, DEN 1 wrote:
another way of saying a place is full of immigrants

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Awwww poor you.

Are you all fwightened of the different coloured people?

Never mind, mummy will build you a time machine and you can go back to the industrial revolution or whatever ficticious golden-age you'd prefer....

To name a city as a distincitve place of culture is to name a city that is wipingout it's heritage and embracing everything that isabohorent to the native people of this country

14. At 12:13pm on 15 Jul 2010, Len Day wrote:
2. At 11:37am on 15 Jul 2010, RockingTheJoint wrote:

When it comes to culture in the UK and indeed the world, London is the runaway winner.

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Shhhh!! It's not PC to say that, even though you're quite right!
----

you don't actually know what 'PC' is, do you?

Perhaps some are missing the point. I suppose the HYS question does ask which is the most worthy city, but the whole point of the Capital of Culture award is to try to inject some investment into less well off areas.

19. At 12:30pm on 15 Jul 2010, suzie127 wrote:

I notice there are no Welsh or Scottish cities nominated. Typical.

....................................................................

To be fair Suzie, each City must put themselves in the running, and it is a European body who decides, this is one occasion where the English aren't to blame (that and the World Cup qualifiers or course hehe!).

But I think Edinburgh would make it good in the running, can't say the same for Glasgow or Cardiff though, sorry....

"Which UK city would be most worthy of culture award?" (HYS):

Would I be far wrong if I said that the 'culture' envisaged in the competition, would refer ideally to a 'Multi-cultural' City? - EG: Is it possible for a City that is NOT noticeably 'Multi-cultural' to win this award? If not - why not...?

What ARE the criteria on which the 'independent' Panel base their decisions? and exactly WHO is this 'panel' comprised of?

Personally:
I'd like to have an award for the best 'British Heritage City' which includes our Historic, Industral, Scientific successes etc. After all, 'Britishness' - as the majority indigenous know it - is being pushed aside / camouflaged for the sake of 'diversity' - which I don't think most of us want...

I nominate "Dump" as city of culture, it could fairly represent many parts of ALL citys.

Maybe the "Stig" off Top Gear could be its official mascot.

Stig of the dump, he could eat Mc deja vu's for breakfast and do a few wheel spins in interludes.

Why are all the poeple saying London? Do they not realise that London is most likely excluded. Everybody already knows about London, and Edinburgh. I think the idea is to create tourism. Birmingham would be my winner from that list on the basis of its contribution during the industrial revelution. I think a lot could be done to showcase Birmingham's proud industrial history. The same goes for the surrounding area, including Abraham Darby's ironfoundries, Ironbridge, Shropshire, etc.

Should this be City of Multiculturalism? I think these days we would find it difficult to find a City of a particular Culture in the UK! ;-)

Re no. 7:
While it's true Liverpool and probably Glasgow did derive economic and social benefits from their Capital of Culture tenures, to dismiss their cultural aspects entirely is a bit harsh. I would ask if David has been to either Liverpool and Glasgow to see how they compare with his more 'deserving' choices?
If one is not familiar with the rich, extensive history and maritime heritage of Liverpool, I can heartily recommend a day of education in the Maritime Museum at Albert Dock or any of the other fine museums available. Liverpool is also blessed with a fantastic array of architecture, both old and modern. More Georgian buildings than Bath anyone? Liver Building clocks faces larger thab Big Bens? 2nd city of the old Empire? etc. etc. I'd bet Glasgow has it's fair share of honours too.
Whichever city wins the new award the best of luck to them, but no doubt they will suffer the usual snide comments.

All this user's posts have been removed.Why?

Question is - WHO's Culture are we celebrating - in most Cities it most certainty cannot be British Culture can it? I am not even sure I could provide a coherent description of what culture is represented in Cities like Birmingham or Sheffield!

To name any city other than London the UK's capital of culture is very patronising to the residents of that city. "Well done you've got a theater and two independently-run cafes, how very cosmopolitan of you"
Also, as Liverpool was our last capital of culture, are we saying there is now less culture in Liverpool than before? Or are they going to give the 'prize' to a city that hasn't actually got the most culture.
And how do you measure culture? Basildon has culture, admittedly it is a culture of buying cheap lager from *well known supermarket* and smoking, but given the choice I would rather spend all day in Basildon than 5 minutes at the Notting Hill carnival.

Give it to Londonderry to show Northern Ireland is part of the UK again, after the years of trouble.

London is the only city that should be considered, since it is the only one in the UK that makes any kind of contribution that benefits the country as a whole and it is the capitol; not only has it the background, but it also has the people who will appreciate it!

I wonder whether Scamandrius has been to Sheffield in the past 5 years? Because they don't appear to be overly familiar with the city as it is now.

Europhile is correct about the beautiful countryside around Sheffield but has neglected to mention the regeneration that has gone on in the city centre over the past decade.
Back in 2000/01 Sheffield city centre was a bit worse for wear but it's come a long way since then, and that's worth remembering.

25. At 12:40pm on 15 Jul 2010, Christopher Styles wrote:

Now you can call me bias, but name one other City in Europe or even the world which can equal or top London's standards of culture?


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With the possible exception of the weeks of the Edinburgh Festival & its Fringe, thereare more cultural activities available in London on any given day than anywhere else in Europe.

If London entered and the judging was fair, it would always win.

Which is probably why its not allowed to enter.

As for people asking 'why these four in particular' - I believe that many cities & towns from all over the UK entered, including some from Scotland & Wales.

whats so Londonish about London? the place only exists in name only, how can you award that?

Ah, Sheffied with its distinct cultural quater that is the park hill estate, millions spent refurbing this gem of architecture and socially engineered perfection....i'l buy that for a dollar, definately a vote winner

32. At 12:52pm on 15 Jul 2010, Scamandrius wrote:

14. At 12:13pm on 15 Jul 2010, Len Day wrote:
2. At 11:37am on 15 Jul 2010, RockingTheJoint wrote:

When it comes to culture in the UK and indeed the world, London is the runaway winner.

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Shhhh!! It's not PC to say that, even though you're quite right!
----

you don't actually know what 'PC' is, do you?

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Keeping to the context of this discussion, it's favouring a minority just for a political reason, as opposed to the correct reason. Everyone knows that London is the runaway winner when it comes to culture in this country, but for PC 'reasons' it is not even being considered. That good enough for you?

"But I think Edinburgh would make it good in the running, can't say the same for Glasgow or Cardiff though, sorry.... "

Just for the record - Glasgow was the European City of Culture in 1990. It's not went backwards in the last 20 years

It is mind-boggling that Liverpool could have ever been a city of culture.

Birmingham is probably the front runner in the four given.

19 wrote: I notice there are no Welsh or Scottish cities nominated. Typical.

I think the clue " cultural" was in the question my friend

All these cities have their merits, but having lived in Norfolk for the past 5 years, my vote goes to Norwich. It does have a fairly vibrant art scene and the facilities for staging cultural events (arts festivals etc) are good.

i think that people should visit these city's before making random comments on what they have heard or read in the media.

As i have only been to Derry and Birmingham i can only comment on them, and either would be illegable for it. They have both different types of culutre, and yeah i know Derry has it's troubles, but hey ain't that the culture off N. ireland. surely culture is about what makes a place and it's history etc.

Does anyone remember the Dublin resident commenting when his city was given the Culture Award: "There's more culture in a pot of yogurt?"

I think everyone is missing the point of a British Captial of Culture entirely. It is a given that London has bags of culture: it is the capital city! However, this is not the point of having a European Capital of Culture, or, indeed, a British one. For those of you who have said it should be called "City of hoping to get a bit of culture award" you are actually sort of on the mark: the capital of culture is to promote cultural events in the selected city, as a foundation for future growth in the cultural area and, in turn, provide an economic stimulus through tourism, and to put it on the cultural map.

London already has this, everyone knows of London. London is the most visited destination in England, so to make London the British Capital of Culture would be against the point of having a Capital of Culture.

Just look at the European Capital of Culture: this year it is Essen - a city in the economic heartland of Germany. Last year it was Linz, can any of you even tell me where that is? It is in Austria. Year before that it was Liverpool. By having Capital of Culture status, the city can grow and reinvent itself.

I would personnally choose Sheffield or Derry, two cities that could do with a bit of reinvention and have some positive headlines for a change.

From reading comments so far it's clear most people havent been to London(Derry), and a lot of people think that having good curry houses counts for being cultural. Culture is everywhere if you know where to look. Labelling one place City of Culture is as pointless as awading somewhere 'City of full of people'.

Did Liverpool benefit from its time as European Capital of Culture ?

Yes, Liverpool has benefited from its time as European Capital of Culture, the most important benefit being the number of people who came here for the first time and found that the area is nothing like the way it is most often described in the media.

I lost count of the number of tourists I met at the various events that were taking place in 2008 who told me they were expecting the city to be a dirty, run down place overrun with crime and social problems but had been very pleasantly surprised to find that the area is a vibrant, diverse and welcoming place with lots to offer.

This has resulted in a noticeable increase in the number of tourists who visit the area and this is an obvious benefit as they all spend their money here which then provides some additional employment opportunities for local people.

Admittedly, most of the original funding ended up benefiting some wealthy land owners, such as the Duke of Westminster, and very few improvements were made to the outlying areas such as Toxteth, Kensington and Anfield but the city centre finally got the regeneration it has so badly needed for so long and we have many new facilities that we'd never have got without the Capital of Culture.

45. At 1:14pm on 15 Jul 2010, fayeautumn wrote:

I wonder whether Scamandrius has been to Sheffield in the past 5 years? Because they don't appear to be overly familiar with the city as it is now.

Europhile is correct about the beautiful countryside around Sheffield but has neglected to mention the regeneration that has gone on in the city centre over the past decade.
Back in 2000/01 Sheffield city centre was a bit worse for wear but it's come a long way since then, and that's worth remembering.

-----------------------------------------------

This is good news if things is getting better. I have never been to Sheffield but I tell you this they used to make some good nives and forks and garden things and the like such as spades that lasted for years before people started all the chinese rubbish that the shops is full up with.

How many of the posters actually bothered to read up on this before they posted?
"The winning city will be one that is able to deliver a substantial programme of cultural activity which leads to a demonstrable step-change in their area, and a lasting legacy."
The site also lists some information, pictures, etc. for each city.

I've just skimmed through a set of comments that reflect old history, prejudices, etc. Not the current reality. I think all the entrants have put forward some very good material. But I'm supporting Sheffield.

(BTW, a lot of the Sheffield cultural activities are done by volunteers so not a big expense.)

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

49. At 1:24pm on 15 Jul 2010, Len Day wrote:
32. At 12:52pm on 15 Jul 2010, Scamandrius wrote:

14. At 12:13pm on 15 Jul 2010, Len Day wrote:
2. At 11:37am on 15 Jul 2010, RockingTheJoint wrote:

When it comes to culture in the UK and indeed the world, London is the runaway winner.

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Shhhh!! It's not PC to say that, even though you're quite right!
----

you don't actually know what 'PC' is, do you?

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Keeping to the context of this discussion, it's favouring a minority just for a political reason, as opposed to the correct reason. Everyone knows that London is the runaway winner when it comes to culture in this country, but for PC 'reasons' it is not even being considered. That good enough for you?

----

But given that London is the most multi-cultural city in Britain and has more ethnic minorities than anywhere else, surely the 'politically correct' thing to do would be to make it City of Culture?

None, they're all hell holes rife with crime, drugs, gangs and Labour voters.

Another pointless topic, my answer? None of them. There, a pointless answer to compliment the topic.

how do we define Culture? British Culture? no, we can't do that anymore can we. So we are actually saying cultures, ie the mixed diversity multicultural thing. Well that can be found in any British city. So out of the list it has to be Birmingham doesn't it as it has the biggest mix of foreign cultures after London.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

50. At 1:24pm on 15 Jul 2010, 1974andallthat wrote:

Just for the record - Glasgow was the European City of Culture in 1990. It's not went backwards in the last 20 years

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Very true, but 20 years is a long time. I believe many other cities have grown in culture since then, who are deserving of this award. Now excluding London I would Manchester, Edinburgh, Isle of White and Chester into the running.

And in of those who objected to Liverpool, the last winners, I believe it has sprouted some very cultural pastimes, especially when it comes to music (with the exception of Paul McCartney of course).

Having never been to Londonderry, I can't comment on its cultural attractions, although I believe it has a good chance of winning as it is: a) the only nominee outside of England, and as we've had one city from Scotland and one from Liverpool previously it only seems fair to offer the prize to one of the other countries in the Union; and b) Londonderry, and NI more widely, could definitely do with the regeneration that would follow.

Of the three English nominees my vote would have to go to Norwich (although i did live there for 5 years so am somewhat biased!). Norwich has the longest and richest history of the nominees having been one of the longest inhabited settlements in Britain. The recent discovery of human life in Norfolk some 900,000 years ago also supports the city's cause. It is one of only 2 cities in England to have both an Anglican and a Catholic cathedral (liverpool is the other and I'm not sure about cities in the rest of the UK). It has also been a hotbed of literary talent since Sir Malcolm Bradbury and Sir Angus Wilson set up the creative writing course at the University of East Anglia, with famous alumni including Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro, Anne Enright, Erica Wagner, Toby Litt and Mohammed Hanif to name just a few (the list of teachers isn't shabby either: Angela Carter, WG Sebald and Andrew Motion). The series of literary lectures that takes place each year is also one of the finest in the country, attracting speakers like, Arthur Miller (from whom the series takes its name), Salman Rushdie, Louis de Bernieres etc. etc.

On the other hand, Norwich doesn't particularly require the regeneration that the accolade would provide as it is already one of the county's more affluent areas.

BIRMINGHAM is worthy of the culture award!!!!! WHY? It has own ballet company! A fantastic arts centre located in a beautiful park near to the city centre! We have plenty of theatres, cinemas (multiplexes), independant ones, ie The Electric Cinema! We have plenty of art galleries! If you want to shop we have The Bullring or The Mailbox! Plenty of bars near the mailbox overlooking a lovely revamped Birmingham canals! We lots of people from differant cultures! We have the The Balti Triangle with fantastic choice of resturants! At the moment the city centre looks so beautiful with all the flowers in full bloom! I Should know I live in the city centre! Surely its Birmingham's turn this time!

34. At 12:54pm on 15 Jul 2010, Joe wrote:
19. At 12:30pm on 15 Jul 2010, suzie127 wrote:

I notice there are no Welsh or Scottish cities nominated. Typical.

....................................................................

To be fair Suzie, each City must put themselves in the running, and it is a European body who decides, this is one occasion where the English aren't to blame (that and the World Cup qualifiers or course hehe!).

But I think Edinburgh would make it good in the running, can't say the same for Glasgow or Cardiff though, sorry....

....................................................................

Actually I think you'll find it is a UK panel, chaired by Phil Redmond. As far as Cardiff and Glasgow are concerned, they have a hell of a lot more culture than Sheffield, trust me I've been to them all.

I think by it's very difinition the city of culture in UK must be London. Failing that, if we wish to be a little more provincial I would suggest Edinburgh or Cardiff as the other repositories of culture.

With the cities mentioned, therefore, the obvious choice has to Birmingham as it will have a larger and more diverse blend of cultures than the others.

4. At 11:47am on 15 Jul 2010, europhile wrote:

None of the above is the short answer.

Out of these four only Norwich has anything resembling culture the rest are horrid industrial run down ugly dirty places

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I bet you is one of those toffee nosed people or one one of them intelectal leftie people who hangs around them posh cofee shops and has never done a real days work in there lives. It was the industrys what built the UK and made it strong.

A disastorous short list! London, Bath, York, Stratford on Avon, Bristol are far better choices. The judges must be a RIGHT THICK lot!

If, by "City of Culture", one means a civilized place, free of yobs, drunks, litter, graffiti and traffic noise, with a rich life of fine art, music and literature, then no - I can't think of anywhere in the UK that one could truly call a city of culture.
There are a few small towns of culture, Hay-on-Wye would be a good example, but not cities, and certainly not Sheffield, for goodness' sake. It's perfectly fine as a "City of Yorkshire Folk", but you'd have to look really hard for the culture bit.

.
I should like to introduce the concept of NETT CULTURE.
.
There are UK towns and cities with important & interesting architecture and artifacts, and these vary in importance as new museums, art galleries and performance centres come and go.(POSITIVE)
.
BUT, these same towns and cities are becoming centres of decline, dereliction, defacement, street rubbish, 'down & out' street beggers & alcoholics, crime, drug addiction, inter-community unrest, etc, etc. (NEGATIVE)
.
A town or city should be ONLY ELIGIBLE for this award if it can show that it has largely erradicated the negative. Then we can judge them by comparing the positive, factoring-in the remaining negative. This is nett culture.
.
It is probable that nowhere in the UK passes the Eligibility Test, in which case the UK judges might award our monies etc to the likes of Seville and other EU cities that leave the 'best of the UK' far behind in the Nett Culture Stakes.

59. At 1:42pm on 15 Jul 2010, factoryworker439 wrote:
45. At 1:14pm on 15 Jul 2010, fayeautumn wrote:

I wonder whether Scamandrius has been to Sheffield in the past 5 years? Because they don't appear to be overly familiar with the city as it is now.

-----

To be honest i deserve worse than that for my ramblings.

the truth is that the only way to make Birmingham seem a more worthy winner than the others is to do the others down.

Sorry.

May the best city win.

29. At 12:50pm on 15 Jul 2010, gardenofengland wrote:
Bromley !

Behave!!

Bexleyheath!!!

"3. At 11:41am on 15 Jul 2010, bug_splattered wrote:
Sheffield?
Culture?
Has some one been taking tablets?"

Havnt you heard of John Shuttleworth how much more culture can you have!

49. At 1:24pm on 15 Jul 2010, Len Day wrote:
32. At 12:52pm on 15 Jul 2010, Scamandrius wrote:

14. At 12:13pm on 15 Jul 2010, Len Day wrote:
2. At 11:37am on 15 Jul 2010, RockingTheJoint wrote:

When it comes to culture in the UK and indeed the world, London is the runaway winner.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shhhh!! It's not PC to say that, even though you're quite right!
----

you don't actually know what 'PC' is, do you?

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Keeping to the context of this discussion, it's favouring a minority just for a political reason, as opposed to the correct reason. Everyone knows that London is the runaway winner when it comes to culture in this country, but for PC 'reasons' it is not even being considered. That good enough for you?


-------------------------------------------------------

Either that or London simply wasn't entered because it always seems to get everything anyway. Anything new and shiny always seems to go that way.

Take that chip off your politically correct shoulder my friend and wake up.

Since I am not a UK citizen, I can’t seriously judge which city should win, though I tend to lean towards Birmingham.
Why?
Birminghan is so diverse.
It is also forward-looking e.g. Students from the Institution of Civil Engineers developed an installation which examines the application of engineering skill to waste materials in guess what area?
Producing future buildings!
Might there be a Culture 2013 Building in Birmingham!
I believe individual cities should examine technological advancements, lifestyle and local (cheap) materials with a focus on adapting, using and reusing these materiels to meet the need for sustainable habitation.
The award is evidently a “pride” thing and I suppose is likely to change local attitudes and prestige; after all, the city selected gets to show off its legacy and traditions.
I look forward to the announced winner of City of Culture 2013 tonight.

63. At 1:50pm on 15 Jul 2010, Toad In The Hole wrote:
None, they're all hell holes rife with crime, drugs, gangs and Labour voters.
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Have you ever been to Norwich?? Drugs - yes (name a part of the UK which isn't rife with drugs, although from the tone of your post I would imagine you don't know much about drugs culture other than what you hear in the Daily Wail); Labour voters - not so many any more, the Greens are on the up (although if you have an inbuilt hatred of Labour voters I doubt you'd like REAL socialists as opposed to Tory-Lite); crime & gangs - LMAO, Norwich is just about the most quaint, comfortable city in the country. You'd struggle to find many examples of gang warfare/crime.

In fact, do you live in Dibley? You seem a bit detatched from reality.

Norwich is the only city I would contemplate visiting.

Londonderry is best known for its Catholic/Protestant conflicts and Brum and Sheffield are two dirty old towns that have been tidies up to promote so-called multiculturalism.

Come on. London is easily the culture capital of the UK. Why do you think the Yanks visit it?

I'm surprised Chester isn;t in that list, it is an awesome city!

63. At 1:50pm on 15 Jul 2010, Toad In The Hole wrote:
None, they're all hell holes rife with crime, drugs, gangs and Labour voters
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Bless. You really should try and get outdoors once in a while.

comment 18 - MrWonderfulReality

You make an excellent point.

'Well having never been to Derry i couldn't possibly comment there, but out of the other three, I would most likely nominate Birmingham, due to it's mixed ethnic population in comparison to the other two cities.'

Heaven forbid we vote for a city like Derry with a largely non ethnic population! What could they possibly know about culture?

Grimsby

"Londonderry, Birmingham, Norwich and Sheffield are competing to be named the UK' inaugural City of Culture."

Who should be the winner?

Is this some form of sick joke?

I have been to them all and frankly not one of them would be missed if they slipped beneath the waves and were never seen again.....

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Culture HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

I've never been to Winchester, but isn't it supposed to be the traditional English mecca of history and culture, going back to Alfred the Great? How come nobody ever mentions it?

76. At 2:09pm on 15 Jul 2010, Scamandrius wrote:

59. At 1:42pm on 15 Jul 2010, factoryworker439 wrote:
45. At 1:14pm on 15 Jul 2010, fayeautumn wrote:


To be honest i deserve worse than that for my ramblings.

the truth is that the only way to make Birmingham seem a more worthy winner than the others is to do the others down.

Sorry.

May the best city win.

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Fair enogh mate. No hard feelings. I think we have lots of nice places in the UK and lots of them would make good winners. All of them has some thing to offer. Good luck to every one.

NONE

The "world doesn't exist outside London" nature of some of the comments takes my breath away as does the ignorance of comment 7. I cannot speak for Liverpool which I haven't visited since childhood but for the information of David and anyone else who thinks Glasgow is some deprived backwater peopled by kilt-wearing Jocks who exist on fried Mars bars, Glasgow has two internationally known symphony orchestras, one of the best chamber orchestras in Europe, an international-standard opera company, one of Britain's finest art galleries, breathtaking Victoria architecture, wonderful public open spaces and many, many other attributes. Of course Glasgow has serious deprivation but name any other major city (including London) which doesn't. The idea that Glasgow was awarded the status of European Capital of Culture because of its deprivation would be laughable if it wasn't so deeply insulting, as it was clearly intended to be.

.
Any town in Andalucia can show the UK and its peoples exactly how to celebrate culture created by cultures.
Centuries of moorish and christian cultures have created whole cities, towns and villages of great beauty and global cultural significance.
The Andelucian 'councils' have attended to the quality of the total environment, knowing that the global visual experience is the memory that tourists and locals alike define as the cultural quality of these 'urban' environments.
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Go to any UK town and the vast majority of churches, mosques, temples, etc. are surrounded by filth, litter and dereliction. No religion extends their internal cleanliness to their outside environment, and our churchyards are an embarrassment of abuse.
No civic responsibility = No cultural value placed on their 'artifact' in the town environment.
Multicultural Culture in the UK 'total urban context' approaches a joke.

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Birmingham is a non-starter. The first attempt to stage anything considered risqué by the local religeous fascits and there' ll be demonstrations outside the offending theatre/gallery. Birmingham, city of counterculture, more like.

- tossacoin.... Norwich and Liverpool are not the only cities to have 2 Cathedrals, Birmingham does as well!

To all those arguing in favour of London, yes I agree that it could beat other cities hands down, but I think the idea of the competition is probably to highlight other areas of the country and their cultures.

Although I'm Yorkshire bred, I'd love to see Birmingham win, and to all those slamming the city it would be great if you actually visited! Yes, if you passw on the M6/M5/M42 it does look so dirty and industrial, and New Street Station is awful, but there are so many parks, free festivals in the city e.g. ArtsFest in Sept offers the chance to see all sorts of world class music and art for free/very cheaply. The Town Hall and Symphony Hall are amazing venues and involve the community, there's a new library being built, NEC, NIA, historic canals, Jewellery Quarter... You get all the big city benefits without the inflated capital prices!

Don't take it too seriously people... if you are going to post belittling comments about the prize, implying that it doesn't mean anything, well if it means that little why do you need to comment? just leave others be! xxx

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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

79. At 2:16pm on 15 Jul 2010, C Yates wrote:

49. At 1:24pm on 15 Jul 2010, Len Day wrote:
32. At 12:52pm on 15 Jul 2010, Scamandrius wrote:

14. At 12:13pm on 15 Jul 2010, Len Day wrote:
2. At 11:37am on 15 Jul 2010, RockingTheJoint wrote:

When it comes to culture in the UK and indeed the world, London is the runaway winner.

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Shhhh!! It's not PC to say that, even though you're quite right!
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you don't actually know what 'PC' is, do you?

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Keeping to the context of this discussion, it's favouring a minority just for a political reason, as opposed to the correct reason. Everyone knows that London is the runaway winner when it comes to culture in this country, but for PC 'reasons' it is not even being considered. That good enough for you?


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Either that or London simply wasn't entered because it always seems to get everything anyway. Anything new and shiny always seems to go that way.

Take that chip off your politically correct shoulder my friend and wake up.

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I assure you there's no chip on my shoulder, as I live just outside Cardiff. I did live in Kent (Tunbridge Wells) & work in London for 23 years, that's true, but if anything I have quite a realistic outlook, and get quite fed up of uninformed people who's sole purpose in life seems to be slating London, and what it has to offer. The truth is that London is a fabulous city, diverse & rich in just about any aspect you want it to be. London is a winner every time.

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