Television producer and screenwriter Sir Phil Redmond paid a special visit to County Durham on Monday as part of the UK City of Culture 2025 judging panel.
County Durham is competing against three shortlisted areas for the title, which will be announced later this month. During his visit, Sir Phil joked that he'd been able to see a number of sights, including the location Sir Keir Starmer was filmed enjoying a late-night beer in April 2021.
However, the Hollyoaks and Brookside producer also acknowledged how positive it was to see people across County Durham working together to highlight the county's culture.
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Sir Phil, chair of the City of Culture Expert Advisory Panel, said: "One of the things I especially enjoy about this process is coming out to the cities and meeting and talking to people and seeing how they're working together to get behind the bid, people coming together sometimes for the first time ever, and it's really great seeing that.
"I like the idea of talking about the history and heritage because I think there's a lot of people across the UK who tend to live in places but they don't really know why. I think it's really great to hear about them wanting to talk about the history of the railways and the history of social movement and remind young people of what their heritage is."
He added: "I hope this whole process will galvanise people to carry things through. Even if they don't get through to build on it and develop and use those partnerships to develop a cultural strategy for the future.
"It's worked elsewhere, other places like Sunderland who didn't get [City of Culture] have set up Culture Sunderland which has done great things. I encourage everybody to use the work that has already been done and move forward with it."
Sir Phil and the rest of the judging panel experienced a busy schedule during their trip to the county, which started in Durham City at Redhills, the historic home of the Durham Miners' Association. It was the association's motto which inspired the title of County Durham's bid – 'Into the Light: The past we inherit the future we build.'
The 11 members of the panel then spilt up in order to experience as much of the county as possible with one group heading to Dawdon, on the east coast, where they met local people who have engaged in a community arts project called Beaches of Dreams. Here the judges were able to visit an outdoor installation the group had created featuring handmade flags, as well as hear how the installation ties in with Black to Green, a project being developed within the bid that explores the county's evolution from coal mining juggernaut to green powerhouse.
Meanwhile, other members of the panel travelled to Bishop Auckland to learn about the major regeneration projects under way in the area. They heard about the work of The Auckland Project with a visit to the Spanish Gallery and No.42, where a community lunch took place and the judges were also introduced to representatives from local tourism businesses.
And finally a third group visited Durham City, where they explored the county's UNESCO World Heritage Site, which includes Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle. Other highlights included a visit to Prebends Bridge to enjoy a view captured by the world-renowned painter JMW Turner, a glimpse inside a secret garden and a presentation about the county's bids for levelling up funding.
The judges then reunited for lunch at New Durham Working Men's Club in the city. Here they enjoyed the warm welcome and spirit of camaraderie the region is famous for, as well as experiencing a slice of County Durham culture immortalised in the works of the Pitman Painters. However, there was a 21st century twist, with live performances and guests representing the heart and soul on the county.
The judges also heard how this links to No Frills, Thrill Me, a Durham 2025 project that will challenge performers to entertain audiences in simple venues without the aid of props and special effects. Food for lunch was provided by REfUSE, a social enterprise committed to reducing food waste, while serving up imaginative dishes at its 'pay as you feel' community café in Chester-le-Street.
Finally the visit culminated at the Ogden Centre, where the judges heard about the work of Durham University's cosmology and astrophysics departments. They also discovered how this important research has helped to inspire Light Year, a year-long cultural programme celebrating the region's 1,300-year history of astronomy and space science.
The Durham 2025 campaign is being driven by Durham County Council, Durham University and Culture Durham, a partnership of more than 20 cultural organisations from across the county. And Sir Phil explained outlined some of the benefits which the City of Culture would receive.
He said: "The prize is probably worth about £200m in terms of PR benefits, to have that whole year of the media saying that X place is brilliant, you really should go and see it and then through all that the extra visitors that come. Those visitors bring cash and cash is to fuel the regeneration engine.
"It is a big opportunity for a city to raise its profile and use it as a springboard."
Coun Amanda Hopgood, leader of Durham County Council, said: "Durham is such a diverse county and, while it's impossible to show the judges everything during their visit, we really want to give them a flavour of the variety that exists here.
"It's also important for us that the judges meet the people who will benefit if County Durham is named UK City of Culture 2025. Whether that be our communities who will be able to access exciting new opportunities or our businesses, which would benefit from the increased visitor numbers our 2025 programme would attract.
"County Durham has a rich heritage, beautiful countryside, a spectacular coastline, world class festival and events and award-winning cultural venues and attractions. However, we also face challenges. The development of our bid has provided hard evidence that the cultural, economic and well-being changes that we need to fulfil our huge untapped potential can be achieved or catalysed through UK City of Culture 2025."
This year, for the first time, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport broadened the UK City of Culture competition to allow counties and districts to apply, resulting in a record-breaking 20 entries. In March, County Durham was one of just four locations to make it to the shortlist. The winner is due to be announced later this month.
If County Durham secures the title, it would bring social and economic benefits to the entire region. This reportedly includes creating thousands of jobs, boosting the creative and visitor economies by millions of pounds and helping to improve community wellbeing.
And with the county's profile and appeal raised nationally and internationally, the benefits of being UK City of Culture 2025 would be felt for years to follow.
Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, said: "We're thrilled to be able to give the judges a glimpse of the wonderful places and people in our county.
"As a university, we pride ourselves on being very much a part of our regional community and Durham University's museums, collections, visitor attractions and cultural activities are an integral part of what County Durham has to offer. Gaining City of Culture status would be a game changer for our region which is full of innovation, opportunities and passion to help our communities thrive."
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