Medway City of Culture 2025 bid campaign kicks off
Medway’s UK City of Culture 2025 campaign has unveiled new branding and a website along with an invitation for people across the area to get involved
Across the next year Medway is bidding to be UK City of Culture as part of a major national competition. Hosting in 2025 could become a real game-changer for Medway, giving young people a key role within its cultural life, creating a legacy of opportunities for local people and bring significant economic benefits to the area.
The bid is being shaped by Medway’s people, businesses, and organisations with over 450 locals of all ages involved to date. Medway’s bid invites locals to ‘Back Medway’, show their support for the bid and have their say in developing Medway’s themes and approach.
The bid is currently seeking local trustees and working group members and invites community groups to host workshops to develop the bid. More information is available on the website with further opportunities to be involved being made public over the coming weeks.
The new branding, which has been created by Chatham-based design agency Circus, embodies Medway’s bid giving a voice to people across the area and includes nods to Medway’s rich history and heritage, with patterns drawn from local landmarks, the river and maritime history.
The process of bidding will identify themes that will underpin an ambitious and innovative year-long series of events that will make up the proposed 2025 programme taking place across the full geography of Medway. The plans reflect Medway’s history and personality and the unique character of our cultural sector which spans digital, film, food, music, fashion, gaming, craft, dance, and much more.
Being recognised as UK City of Culture would bring the title to the South East for the first time in the competition’s history and have a profound impact on the whole of the area. Previous winners have seen a significant cultural and economic boost including increases in tourism and inward-investment. Hull saw a projected £22 million gross value added to the local economy as a result of hosting.
Imogen Robertson, Bid Director at Medway 2025, said: “2020 has been a challenging year and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how strong Medway is when we come together and how central creativity is to our wellbeing as individuals and communities.
“Our UK City of Culture 2025 bid is a huge opportunity for Medway to write the next chapter in our story and show the rest of the country what we have to be proud of. Being City of Culture is a chance to bring once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to life for people across the whole of Medway and bolster our COVID-19 recovery. Now is the moment to Back Medway and support our bid!”
Eddy Eguaoje, Founder of Medway Fashion Week and supporter of Medway 2025, adds: “As a young creative in Medway, I set up Medway Fashion Week to shine a light on the amazing sense of innovation present throughout our towns, villages and peninsula. Therefore, it is fantastic to see that our communities are coming together to put Medway forward as UK City of Culture 2025. The area has such a strong arts and culture scene, from fashion and beyond, so there is so much we have to shout about and be proud of as part of this bid.”