In November 2013, Hull was announced the winner of the UK City of Culture 2017. “The award is given every four years to a city that demonstrates the belief that the transformational power of culture. Hull City Council set up Hull UK City of Culture 2017 as an independent company and charitable trust. The arts and cultural programme for 2017 celebrates the unique character of the city, its people, history and geography. Each of the four seasons of the programme has “something distinctive and intriguing, created to challenge and thrill”. The team are working with artists of Hull to celebrate the culture of the city and its place in the wider cultural offer of the North making Hull a cultural destination for must-see events. Young people are at the heart of the programme, and thousands of volunteers are helping deliver the cultural programme in 2017. Working with businesses and organisations, the aim was to make Hull a better place for the people who live and work in Hull. Multi-million pound investments have revitalised and transformed the city centre”. “The team behind Hull’s tenure as UK City of Culture 2017 have revealed plans to ensure the year-long celebration leaves a lasting legacy. Since Hull was confirmed as the host of next year’s initiative back in 2013, investments of more than £1 billion have flowed into the city, creating thousands of jobs, and over £3 billion in total from public and private investment that is currently being developed, in delivery or have been completed. These include plans by Siemens to build a £310m offshore wind manufacturing plant at Alexandra Dock, the £200m Energy Works development opened by Spencer Group, RB’s (Reckitt Benckiser) £100m investment in a research and development centre, £200m at the University of Hull, £90m in Fast Lightstream from KCOM, £50m in a Smith and Nephew medical devices centre, £25m in a new Hilton Hotel, £20m in expansion and redesign of Princes Quay shopping centre, £20m investment in Atlas Leisure at Priory Park, £80m in the redevelopment of the Fruit Market area of the city, £9m in Kreate Training and Enterprise Centre, and £11m in Ron Dearing University Technical College. A ten-year Cultural Strategy 2016-2026 was launched in a bid to sustain the economic boom. The strategy will “put culture and the arts at the heart of Hull’s regeneration and development” with a view to establishing a sustainable visitor economy in the city. A new partnership was established and tasked with developing plans to capitalise on the city’s maritime and international connectivity to shape an “ambitious, distinctive artistic and cultural programme” for 2018 and beyond. The partnership’s priorities will include making Hull Old Town a UNESCO World Heritage site and securing a £30m funding bid for projects which will allow the Hull to exploit its historic role as Yorkshire’s maritime city. Further infrastructure projects would include £50m investment to build a cruise terminal and the delivery of the £194m Highways England scheme to improve the A63. With a £2.6m legacy fund already established by Hull City Council and the Hull 2017 Company, work to develop Hull’s 2018 programme has begun”. Legacy has been embedded in every stage of the UK City of Culture journey and has been the topic of the 2016 Director of Public Health Annual report. “Projects and initiatives set to be in place for Hull UK City of Culture include improved facilities at the Ferens Art Gallery and Hull New Theatre, the new 3,500-seat Hull Venue, a transformed public realm, a revitalised Fruit Market and waterfront, and the preservation and enhancement of some of the city’s most important historic sites and buildings”. Nine in ten people in Hull have taken part in City of Culture events and there are 300,000 volunteer hours to date (November 2017). Ferens art gallery and museums have had 1,200,000 visitors up to September 2017 with hotel occupancy at 88%, and 13% more rail passenger journeys. The majority of these investment plans have been completed.
Weldon, J. and M. Green, Dancing in the Street: Maximising Health and Wellbeing Benefits of UK City of Culture. Director of Public Health Annual Report. 2016, Hull City Council: Hull.