Bolton officially launched its year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture with a spectacular event at the town’s famous Octagon Theatre.
Performances from the theatre’s production of Little Shop of Horrors were among the highlights of the celebration alongside a showcase of local arts and culture.
Each year, towns across Greater Manchester are invited to bid to become Town of Culture, which comes with a £50,000 grant to support local projects.
Bolton’s winning bid focused on emphasising how culture is the heartbeat of the town, building on the recently launched Cultural Strategy.
Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Culture, Cllr Nadeem Ayub, said:
“The opportunity to bid for the Greater Manchester Town of Culture came at a perfect time that tied into our new Cultural Strategy.
“The strategy sets out to further solidify Bolton as a cultural hotspot, where we continue to host and build on our famous events, like the Bolton Food and Drink Festival and the Bolton Film Festival.
“Bolton has a powerful community and voluntary sector, with excellent cultural partnerships.
“Together, we’ve been able to provide an ambitious vision for developing creativity in the borough to complement our new Bolton Brand and Visitor Economy Strategy.
“This has all played a big part in winning this year’s Town of Culture grant, and we’re delighted to use this to help further build up our local arts, heritage, history and film offer.”
Bolton is the fourth place to be named Greater Manchester Town of Culture, following successful programmes in Bury, Stalybridge and Stockport.
