Derry has been chosen as the UK’s inaugural City of Culture. Derry, which was short-listed alongside Birmingham, Sheffield and Norwich, will take the mantle in 2013.
Plans are already in place to hold a pageant on the River Foyle celebrating the return St Columba, to Ireland, a contemporary music festival and a visual arts festival.
Other elements of the winning bid included giving children across the city access to music training and a new commission from the Field Day theatre company.
The actor James Nesbitt, who was on of the bid’s celebrity backers, said the win confirmed Derry as “a cultural powerhouse.”
“Whether it is writers like Seamus Heaney and Seamus Deane, songwriters and performers like Phil Coulter or the Undertones, artists like Willie Doherty, filmmakers like Margo Harkin and Tom Collins or actors like Amanda Burton, Roma Downey and Bronagh Gallagher, the city has asserted a huge influence on the arts internationally.”
Rose Park House Bed And Breakfast congratulates all involved – Legenderry!
Crowd scenes following the announcement of Derry – Londonderry as winner of the UK City of Culture 2013.