Llangollen must wait longer to hear about UK Town of Culture bid

                   * The official emblem of the UK Town of Culture competition.

Llangollen will have to wait a little while longer to see if it has made the shortlist to become the UK's first Town of Culture in 2008, which carries a £3 million first prize.

After an exhaustive programme of public consultation, the local Expression of Interest was submitted to the UK Government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) by the official deadline of March 31.

DCMS originally said the shortlist would be announced in the Spring. But now it has written to Llangollen Town Council, which is spearheading the bid, to say we'll have to wait another couple of months to find out if we're in the group going forward into the final round.

The department says: "Thank you for taking the time to submit an expression of interest to the UK Town of Culture 2028 competition. 

"We are delighted by the energy and enthusiasm it has generated amongst towns. We previously told you that we would announce the shortlist in Spring. 

"As a result of the exceptional response we have received, the expert advisory panel require additional time to assess all of the bids, and we will now announce the shortlisted towns by the end of July."

The competition invited towns across Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland to showcase "original storytelling, and empowering, accessible culture". 

Inspired by the success of the flagship UK City of Culture - neighbouring Wrexham has made the longlist - which is a proven model for cultural placemaking, this competition aims to spotlight the cultural contribution of towns to the national story. 

The winning town will be awarded £3 million to deliver a cultural programme in 2028 of around six months. The two finalists from their category will receive £250,000 each to deliver elements of their bid.

It's not known at this stage exactly which towns Llangollen will be competing against but it's understand a number in Wales are bidding including Abergavenny, Blaenavon, Monmouth, Pontypridd, Port Talbot & Afan Valley,  Machynlleth, Llandrindod Wells, Hay-on-Wye and Cwmbran.

Llangollen's bid includes neighbouring Llantysilio and Llangollen Rural.

In his submission of Llangollen's Expression of Interest by the March 31 deadline, the Town Clerk wrote to the Minister: "This submission reflects the strength, heritage, and cultural ambition of our town, and we are proud to present it for your consideration. An exact Welsh translation of the document is also enclosed."