City of Culture 2029 bid will boost tourism, says Peterborough MP

Peterborough’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2029 could provide a significant boost to tourism and the local economy, according to Labour MP Andrew Pakes.

Peterborough City Council confirmed it would submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), formally entering the national competition.

The bid is being led by the council alongside community leaders and partners, including the city’s tourist board and Peterborough Positive.

Pakes said the move reflected growing confidence in the city, adding that “even making a bid helps attract visitors and boost the local economy. Winning would be a game-changer.”

The UK City of Culture competition, run by DCMS, invites cities, towns, regions and groups of places to present a vision for culture-led transformation.

Its aim is to help communities use culture to drive growth, create opportunities and build pride and social cohesion.

The council emphasised that submitting an EOI would not cost local taxpayers money. If successful, the programme would be delivered through national investment and external funding, rather than council budgets.

In the past 18 months, the local authority said Peterborough had gained renewed momentum through Pride in Place funding, major civic investment – including a new swimming pool and leisure centre – and the launch of Discover Peterborough, the city’s new tourism board.

Labour council leader Shabina Qayyum, said: “From our 900-year-old cathedral and national history to our archaeology, landscapes and diverse communities, Peterborough has a powerful story.

“This Expression of Interest is about backing our creativity and ensuring our city’s potential is fully recognised.”

Support for the bid has also come from across the city’s business, cultural and faith communities.

Pep Cipriano, chief executive of Peterborough Positive which represents more than 400 businesses and organisations, said the bid “builds momentum, strengthens collaboration and helps create the conditions for long-term economic and cultural growth”.

Bernadetta Omondi, from Inclusion & Diversity East Anglia, said Peterborough’s diversity was one of its greatest strengths, describing it as “a city where cultural diversity leads to social harmony and equality”.

Rajni Reddy, from Peterborough’s Diwali committee, and Abdul Choudhuri, chairman of the Joint Mosques Council, have also backed the bid. They said the city was renowned as a “welcoming sanctuary” where “faith communities have long worked together”.

Known as city’s “strongest man”, Walter Cornelius’s image has been used as a symbol for Peterborough’s culture bid.

A Latvian migrant living in the city, he famously attempted to fly across the River Nene using handmade wings. The act captured the spirit of migration and aspiration, the council said – arriving with hope, imagination and the courage to dream beyond circumstance.

The deadline for entrants to submit their bids is 8 February.

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