Birkenhead Town of Culture 2028: Have Your Say by 28 Oct

The team behind Birkenhead’s bid to become the first UK Town of Culture wants to hear from the people who live there, and it has given them until Wednesday 28 October. A short online questionnaire asks what matters about the town and what people would like to see in 2028. It takes less than five minutes (Wirral View, 9 October 2026).

Birkenhead is one of 15 towns left in the competition, picked from 398 bids. It is the only one in the North West. The winner gets £3 million to run a year of culture in 2028.

Where the bid stands

The government announced the shortlist on 9 July. Birkenhead is in the large town category, against three others (Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 9 July 2026):

• Basildon
• Birkenhead
• Grimsby
• Rotherham

Each shortlisted town received £60,000 to write its full bid. The independent judging panel is chaired by Sir Phil Redmond, the creator of Brookside and Hollyoaks.

One finalist will be picked from each of the three size categories. One of the three then wins the title. The other two finalists get £250,000 each and are named “Best Large Town”, “Best Medium Town” or “Best Small Town” (full application guidance, DCMS).

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The key dates

The government’s timetable, with the Birkenhead questionnaire added:

So the questionnaire is the last public stage before the bid is written. What people say “over the coming weeks will become an important part of what we put forward”, according to the bid director, Craig Pennington. He is the co-founder and chief executive of Future Yard, the music venue on Argyle Street.

Who is behind it

The bid is led by the Birkenhead Culture Partnership, working with Wirral Council. The partnership says it was founded this year by “a group of independent businesses, arts practitioners and cultural organisations” (Birkenhead Culture Partnership).

“This bid isn’t about a small group of people deciding what a year of culture should look like,” Mr Pennington said in the council’s announcement. “What makes the town special to you? What stories should we be telling?”

Cllr Paula Basnett, the leader of Wirral Council, said the title would give the town “a national platform to tell those stories”. She said it could “create new opportunities for local people and communities”.

Three ways to take part

The partnership’s website has three separate forms:

• The questionnaire, on what Birkenhead 2028 should look like. Open until 28 October.
• A project idea form, for anyone who would like to run something as part of a Town of Culture year.
• An event form, for events in what it calls an “activation period” between November and March, while the bid is judged.

There are also postcards for people who would rather write or draw an idea. The council says they are available throughout October at:

• the Williamson Art Gallery
• The Hive Youth Zone
• Eureka!
• Future Yard
• every Wirral library

They are also going out through schools and youth groups.

What it means for you

• If you live, work or study in Birkenhead, you have until Wednesday 28 October to fill in the questionnaire. It is short, and it feeds directly into the bid.
• If you run a group, a venue or a creative project, the project form is your route into the programme. The event form covers activity this winter.
• Children and teenagers can use the postcards, at any Wirral library or through school.
• Nothing is decided for a while. The bid goes in on 30 November, and the winner will be named by the end of March 2027. We will report the result.

For other things happening across the borough, see our what’s on in Wirral page.