Why am I supporting the bid for Sunderland to be City of Culture 2021?
The reason is because I love my city, I am proud to be from Sunderland, and to be a Mackem. I was born and raised in Sunderland and still live and work here today – twice I came close to leaving for my career, but for whatever reason I never did and I doubt I ever will.
I work in finance and have done for over 25 years. I have been fortunate these last few years to be involved in what I see as the start of a regeneration of the city, both physically and culturally. There is real momentum growing within the city, and this has been highlighted by the increasing support for the 2021 bid. I passionately believe we can win this bid not just because of our fine history but probably more so because of the future we are striving to create
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Our city has so much to offer the people of Sunderland, and also visitors from outside the city. Highlights include the National Glass Centre, our wonderful coastline, the Museum and Winter Gardens and the Stadium of Light (when, on writing this blog, we are still for the time being a Premier League football team!).
Our university is now attracting students from all corners of the globe which only strengthens the attraction of Sunderland.
Now more than at any other time the city is hosting more events and people are attending in vast numbers: Summer Streets festival, Sunniside Live, Chinese New Year, Diwali Celebrations, and Pop Recs to name only a few. We will also be welcoming the Tall Ships race in 2018 and this is huge for our city.
Then, the icing on the cake was the announcement earlier this month that we had been granted permission and received Arts Council funding to build the Auditorium which will sit perfectly next to the Fire Station. I expect this area will become a real hub of activity and will be a major asset for the city in the years to come.
So why do I think we should back the bid to become City of Culture 2021? The bigger question is: why would we not? A colleague of mine described winning the funding for the Auditorium as a real game changer for the city, now imagine how much of a game changer it will be when we win City of Culture 2021.
— Ian High, Finance Manager at Sunderland Music, Arts and Culture Trust
