Council puts Strabane forward in bid for UK Town of Culture
31 March 2026
Derry City and Strabane District Council will this week submit an official application nominating Strabane for the prestigious UK Town of Culture 2028 title.
The submission showcases Strabane’s rich cultural heritage, dynamic creative community, and its growing reputation as a centre for music, arts, storytelling, and festival activity, highlighting the town’s strong community spirit, vibrant local businesses, and its proud history of nurturing talent across generations.
Officials from the Council over the past number of weeks have worked closely with arts organisations, community groups, schools, and businesses to shape the application, emphasising the important role Strabane plays in the district’s cultural landscape and its potential for even greater regional impact.
A key element of Strabane’s bid is a narrative around resilience and hope and how the town has weathered more challenges than most towns of its size and how having witnessed the transformational power or culture across other part of the district, it believes it has the potential to unlock something remarkable for Strabane. The bid’s narrative is around Strabane as a rural border town has been shaped by generations of grit and humour and how the Town of Culture title represents a pivotal moment to tell a new story, one of healing, local pride, and a future built firmly on hope.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Ruairí McHugh said: “We are really hopeful and confident about Strabane’s bid for Town of Culture status. Strabane has so much to offer, from its outstanding cultural heritage to the passion of its people and creative community. This application reflects the pride and ambition of a town that continues to grow, inspire and lead. We believe Strabane truly deserves to be recognised on a national stage and would benefit greatly from the investment and recognition it would bring.”
Local author Brian McGilloway pledging his support for the bid said: “As a novelist, I have always known the border area of Strabane and Lifford to be one rich with literary history and creative possibility. While we rightly acknowledge our past with Flann O’Brien and Frances Cecil Alexander, so should we celebrate our present and future. With youth drama groups and dance troupes, filmmakers and fashion designers, choirs, bands, artists and creative writing classes drawing from both sides of the border and all parts of the community, the Arts in Strabane increasingly offers opportunities for enjoyment, employment and learning. More importantly, it provides a chance to connect with one another and, in so doing, contribute to the telling of our shared story of resilience and hope.”
Strabane based comedian Emer Maguire said she is happy to get behind the bid, she said: “Strabane is my hometown and I couldn’t be prouder to be from there. I take any opportunity to tell people that. It’s where I found my voice, my humour, and my people. There’s something very special about Strabane - the kindness, the craic, the resilience - it’s just unmatched. We don’t always get the recognition we deserve because people see us as small and because we’re tucked away in the North West - but Strabane folk are salt of the earth, and we punch well above our weight in every way possible. Strabane deserves to be recognised, and I fully support Strabane’s bid to become a UK Town of Culture. I wouldn’t want to be from anywhere else”.
Kieran Kennedy, Chair of Strabane Business Improvement District (BID) said: “Strabane town centre businesses are facing significant challenges, reflected in a vacancy rate that is significantly higher than the UK average, and which is having a real impact on town centre confidence and vibrancy. Despite these challenges Strabane remains a town with a proud identity, strong community spirit and a rich cultural heritage that deserves greater recognition. Achieving UK City of Culture status would provide a powerful platform to raise our profile nationally, attracting visitors, investment and renewed interest in the town centre. It would help reignite vibrancy, support local retailers and hospitality businesses, and provide a much-needed economic boost our business community urgently needs.”
Aodhán Harkin, Chair of Strabane Local Growth Partnership said: "Strabane Local Growth Partnership fully endorses the town's expression of interest to become the first Town of Culture in 2028. Strabane has a rich and often underappreciated cultural and social history, and many powerful stories waiting to be told. This opportunity offers a wonderful platform for our people and communities of all ages to create, engage and participate in an inspiring and transformative year-long programme. We urge everyone to get behind this Town of Culture bid and to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Strabane and the wider district."
The application will be formally submitted to the UK Town of Culture assessment panel this week, with shortlisted towns expected to be announced later in the year.
Information on the Town of Culture is available here along with details of the key timelines and the processes involved - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-town-of-culture-2028-expression-of-interest/uk-town-of-culture-2028-expression-of-interest-guidance-for-bidders