Our map tracking publicly announced bids for the inaugural UK Town of Culture 2028 title has revealed the extraordinary scale of interest in the competition, with close to 100 towns across the UK having shared their intentions ahead of the 31 March deadline.

The map, published by St Neots’ bid team, plots confirmed bidding towns by parliamentary constituency and shows entries spread from Falmouth in Cornwall to Greenock in Scotland, and from Londonderry in Northern Ireland to towns across the East of England. The sheer geographic spread underlines just how significant this competition has become: towns of every size, political complexion and regional character are making their case to become the first ever UK Town of Culture.

Labour and Conservative-held constituencies account for the majority of bidding towns, though Liberal Democrat and other seats are also represented, reflecting the genuinely cross-party appeal of the programme. The North West, Yorkshire and the Midlands are particularly well represented, as are the South East and South West.

St Neots is one of only a handful of towns bidding from the East of England, and the only one in Huntingdonshire. As the fastest-growing town in Cambridgeshire, with a population heading towards 65,000, St Neots sits in the medium-town category and has a distinctive story to tell: a community expanding at pace, building its identity in real time, and using culture to answer the question of what kind of place it wants to become.

With the expert panel chaired by Sir Phil Redmond expected to announce a shortlist in spring 2026, the competition is now in its decisive final weeks. The breadth of interest from across the UK makes shortlisting a significant achievement in itself.