Town of Culture
What is Town of Culture?
Town of Culture is a new UK-wide programme inspired by the success of UK City of Culture.
One town from each size category becomes a finalist. Of those three finalists, the overall winner receives £3 million and the other two finalists receive £250,000 each. The competition is being delivered across the UK in collaboration with the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- 15 Towns have been shortlisted from around 400 applications and have received £60,000 to develop their full bid.
- The winning town will receive £3 million for its 2028 programme
- The winning town will be announced in March 2027
What do we mean by culture?
Shetland culture is about much more than arts and heritage. It’s all the things that make Shetland what it is and shapes how we live, create and connect with each other – culture can be anything and everything; MUSIC, STORIES, FOOD, SPORT, CRAFT, LANGUAGE, FILM, FESTIVALS, ART, DESIGN, NATURE, DIGITAL, TRADITIONS, TECHNOLOGY, RECREATION, COMMUNITY, DANCE, DRAMA