City of Culture bid off to London

A report prepared for yesterday’s meeting of Derry City Council’s Development Committee said there has been strong support for the bid and outlines the progress of the application.

The report states: “The Initial 30-page bid was submitted on December 11 and Council and its partners have been invited to a meeting in London on 15th January to discuss any questions of clarification the assessment panel may have.

“Council will be advised of these questions in advance of the meeting and a written response will be required by the assessment panel. An executive summary of the bid is being prepared and will be circulated to members as soon as it is available. It is anticipated that the assessment panel will short list the 14 bids to 4-5 bids by the end of January/early February.”

The report continues: “An important element of the bid is the artistic and cultural programming element. To assist in the further definition of the 200+ suggestions that were received, a workshop has been arranged for Wednesday, 20th January 2010 in the Playhouse. This will be an open invitation event and in addition to a public advertisement a letter will be issued to all stakeholders who have registered an interest in the bid.

“The bid continues to receive strong endorsement and 40 letters of support have now been received. The profile of the bid has increased significantly with the launch of ‘Send a Christmas Wish’ campaign and the launch of the dedicated website www.cityofculture2013.com.”