Fifteen towns have been shortlisted to become the UK’s first Town of Culture, after nearly 400 places from across the country entered the landmark competition.

Monmouth failed in its bid to be one of them with Port Talbot and Pontypridd being the only successful Welsh towns.

The government confirmed that it had received an incredible 398 bids from over 400 hopeful towns as part of the competition, demonstrating that culture belongs everywhere and shining a light on the many towns across the UK that are vital to the national story.

UK Town of Culture asked for a postcard to be created along with 100 words of accompanying text to showcase the breadth and diversity of towns participating in the competition. National Museums Liverpool have agreed to store the postcards into their national collection as a permanent record of all towns entered into the inaugural town of culture competition. They are looking at options to display them digitally and physically so they can continue to showcase all the brilliant things that all the bids hold.

Sherren McCabe-Finlayson, Creator and Project Lead of the Monmouth Town of Culture 2028 bid said: “ We were naturally disappointed to learn that Monmouth was not shortlisted for UK Town of Culture.

We would like to congratulate the towns that have been shortlisted and wish them every success as they prepare the next stage of their bids. We look forward to seeing who is ultimately chosen. The shortlisted towns are: Birkenhead, Basildon, Rotherham, Strabane, Leith, Grimsby, Stockton-on-Tees, Pontypridd, Port Talbot, Corby, Great Yarmouth, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown and Ilfracombe.

Although Monmouth was not selected, we are incredibly proud that we put our town forward and gave it the opportunity to be considered on a national stage. Our motivation was never personal recognition. It was simply to do something positive for a town that we all love and care deeply about.

Our vision was to help regenerate Monmouth, create opportunities for local people and businesses, and develop a lasting programme of events that could become part of the town’s calendar. This would have been delivered through a new not-for-profit organisation established specifically to oversee the Town of Culture programme and everything that followed.

Thank you to everyone who supported the bid, especially Monmouth Town Council, and to everyone who offered encouragement, shared ideas, and believed in what we were trying to achieve.

While the outcome wasn’t the one we had hoped for, we remain proud that Monmouth’s name was put forward, particularly following last year’s devastating floods and the impact they had on so many people in our community. That was one of the key motivations behind the bid: to represent our town and its people with ambition, positivity, and pride.”

Shortlisted towns will now receive £60,000 each to develop their full bids, which will be assessed by the independent judging panel. One finalist will then be selected from each category with the overall winner being announced early next year.