Hull UK City of Culture 2017 was a designation given to the city of

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south- ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2020 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The designation means that Hull gains access to funding to improve its

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

and arts facilities, and will host a series of events celebrating local culture. Hull was selected in 2013 to become the second

UK City of Culture UK City of Culture is a designation given to a city (or a local area from 2025) in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration for the ye ...

since the initiative began in 2013, succeeding

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Background

UK City of Culture is an event held once every four years, highlighting one location in the UK and promoting arts and culture as a means of celebration and regeneration. The aim of the initiative, which is administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is to "build on the success of

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

's year as European Capital of Culture 2008, which had significant social and economic benefits for the area". The inaugural holder of the award was Derry in 2013 to 2017.

Bidding and selection process

After Derry/Londonderry in 2013, the next UK City of Culture was scheduled for 2017. Officials from

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

stated they would bid for the title, as did officials from

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, while local officials from

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

, Hull, and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

suggested that those cities would bid for the 2017 title. On 18 April 2013, the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce announced that

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

were making a joint bid for the 2017 title. There was also a bid from East

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

(Canterbury, Ashford, Folkestone, Dover and Thanet), and another from

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

and

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of ar ...

, supported by celebrity Graham Norton. In June 2013 the shortlist of four bids from

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

and Swansea Bay was announced. The winner of the 2017 title was announced on 20 November 2013 and Hull was chosen. TV producer Phil Redmond, who chaired the City of Culture panel, said Hull was the unanimous choice because it put forward "the most compelling case based on its theme as 'a city coming out of the shadows'". On 31 July 2014, Martin Green was announced as chief executive of the team. Green was previously head of ceremonies for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

, and organised the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ ceremony in Yorkshire.

Season 1: ''Made in Hull''

The first three-month season was intended to focus on the contribution of the city to art, industry and ideas. Hull City Hall illuminated at the opening event for Hull City of Culture 2017 event 5

Hull City Hall illuminated at the opening event for Hull City of Culture 2017 event 5

On 1 January 2017, the Hull event opened with a fireworks display over the

Humber Estuary The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...

and a series of sound and light installations which reportedly attracted more than 25,000 visitors. By the end of the first week, the BBC was reporting that 342,000 people had participated in the opening events. The event included multimedia sound and light projections onto landmark buildings in the city's Victoria Square as well as a display of ''Hullywood Icons'' featuring local people recreating famous scenes from film.

Season 2: ''Roots and Routes''

The season from April to June 2017 focused on Hull as a gateway, a place of movement to and through, a celebration of migration and flux.

Season 3: ''Freedom''

The third season explored the role Hull played in the emancipation movement, building on the contribution of

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

and the existing suite of summer festivals in Hull, including the Freedom Festival. At the Freedom Festival, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was awarded the Wilberforce Medallion and gave the Wilberforce Lecture at Hull City Hall, which celebrates the historic role of Hull and Wilberforce in combating the abuse of

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

. The 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality was marked as part of LGBT 50, a series of events which included the title of 'UK Pride' being awarded to

Pride in Hull Pride in Hull is an annual LGBT Pride celebration held in the city of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It takes the form of a parade followed by a large scale day-long music festival. Pride in Hull is organised by a board ...

Season 4: ''Tell the World''

The closing season from October to December 2017 looked forwards and attempted to redefine the city for the future, building on the legacy of its year as UK City of Culture. The 2017 Turner Prize was held in Hull on 5 December 2017.

Finale

On 31 December 2020, Hull’s tenure of the City of Culture came to an end and Coventry took over the mantle of UK City of Culture, which began in June 2021.

Volunteers

The events constituting all the seasons of City of Culture were staffed by volunteers working alongside paid staff. From an initial 120 Pioneer Volunteers recruited in March 2016 through various Wave 1, 2, 3 and 4 recruitment drives, a total of 2,500 individual volunteers were signed up. Volunteers wore a uniform designed and provided by local company Arco, consisting of black trousers or shorts, blue polo shirt, jacket, baseball cap and purple backpack. Arco described the colours as 'scandalous blue', 'ludicrous purple' and 'mischievous pink'. These made all volunteers easily identifiable and approachable by members of the public looking for assistance and advice.

Impact

The BBC reported that a report by

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

in March 2018 found Hull's status as the UK City of Culture attracted more than five million people, £220 million of investment and 800 new jobs.

References

External links

Hull City of Culture 2017 official website
{{UK City of Culture Arts festivals in England Cultural festivals in the United Kingdom Kingston upon Hull Culture in Kingston upon Hull Hull City of Culture 2017 2010s in Kingston upon Hull