Press Release

City of Culture gets big send off

Thursday, 20 May 2010

The final bid document that will determine whether or not Derry~Londonderry will be the UK City of Culture 2013 left the city today with goodwill messages from local school children and young people who gave it their full backing.

Speaking before she left for Manchester to submit the bid, Oonagh McGillion, temporary Director of Development said it was a privilege to carry the bid to its final destination on behalf of the city.

“We have been overwhelmed by the level of goodwill shown towards the bid and we firmly believe we have the winning bid. On behalf of the bid team and everyone involved I would like to sincerely thank everyone for their support”.

“We feel really confident that we are in with a good chance of securing this title. The support we have received throughout the campaign has been tremendous, people of all ages and backgrounds have pledged their support and given up their time to help us with this bid, let’s hope that the hard work and dedication will pay off and we can deliver the City of Culture title to the city and the whole of Northern Ireland,” she commented.

Local school children and members of the bid team joined the Mayor for a resounding Just Say Yes! This follows from the Cultural Connections reception at the Millennium Forum last night that extended a big thank you to everyone involved in contributing to the bid. The cultural connections reception, was attended by the US Envoy to Northern Ireland, Declan Kelly and the Mayor, Cllr Paul Fleming, who said the support from the public was unprecedented.

US Envoy Declan Kelly said “Derry-Londonderry and the entire region of Northern Ireland possess a great deal of cultural capital and creative talent. A winning bid would create an immense opportunity for the region to further develop its strong cultural base”.

Mayor Cllr Paul Fleming said: “A big thank you to everyone involved in this campaign. We are confident we can win this bid and secure a better future for our young people and help secure jobs, investment and tourists to our historic city.”

Speaking before the bid departed, Oonagh McGillion explained there still is an opportunity to get involved. “On Friday 21st we will be encouraging as many people as possible to join the ranks and spread the news about our city and our bid. You can do this by joining our fans on Facebook, change your profile picture or add a badge, follow us on Twitter, add a Twibbon and add #derry2013 to your update. Add a badge to your website or footer to your emails and if you write a blog about the bid then let us know about it and we will post the link. There is still time to make this happen for us.”

Ends

Notes to Editor:

Derry -Londonderry is one of four cities shortlisted in the race to become the UK’s City of Culture in 2013, along with Birmingham, Norwich and Sheffield. Since it was shortlisted in February 2010, support for the campaign has been rapidly building momentum, with thousands of people backing it on Facebook. The city’s crusade has also received support from the United States, with the US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland, Declan Kelly, backing Derry-Londonderry's bid. The city will submit its final bid tomorrow 21 May 2010, and the winner of UK City of Culture 2013 will be announced in the summer. It’s an important opportunity for the city, to share the diversity of the area, and its extraordinary past and exciting future, with the rest of the world. Register online at www.cityofculture2013.com and get involved.

For further press information contact the City of Culture Press Office on 028 7137 6575

Press Office

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