City of Culture: County Durham's loss still feels like a win

The sun emerged moments before the winner was announced but it proved to be a false dawn

More than 100 people, from drag queens to dignitaries, gathered at Beamish Museum to witness the announcement of the City of Culture 2025 winner. The BBC was among the throng when the sense of anticipation turned to deflation.

It had felt like it was County Durham's time to shine.

The rain that had steadily drenched those gathered in Beamish Museum's Town Park relented just moments before the winner was to be declared.

The sun broke through the forbidding clouds and offered a ray of hope for those who had invested much time and energy in the county's bid.

There were hearty cheers and enthusiastic banner waving whenever Durham was mentioned on the One Show, and you could sense the excitement mounting as the moment neared for Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries to announce the winner.

But when she revealed it was Bradford that had been chosen an audible groan passed across the park, followed by a respectful round of applause for the victors.

Rain failed to dampen spirits of those gathered at Beamish Museum for the announcement

Months of work had gone into the bid involving arts groups, cultural communities, councils and universities, so was it all a waste of time?

"Definitely not" said Janet Stewart, executive dean of arts and humanities at Durham University.

She was adamant crucial friendships had been forged throughout the bid process, a concerted effort has been made to identify what Durham does and what it needs to do.

That would still yield results, even if it was not under the City of Culture flag, she said.

"It would have been fabulous to celebrate a win but the work we have done so far is already really important," she said, adding: "I'm 100% sure it will pay a dividend."

Tony Harrington, the chairman of Culture Durham, agreed wholeheartedly.

"Durham may not be the City of Culture but it will still be the county of culture," he declared proudly after the result. His words were met with a chorus of defiant cheers.

Excitement turned to deflation for those behind the Durham 2025 bid, but not for long

He was upbeat, not least for the "civic pride" the county had shown in reaching the final four.

"This is a great step, just getting to the final was an achievement and the work we have started will continue," he said.

John Shuttleworth, county councillor for Weardale and a member of the council's cabinet, was also positive in the face of defeat.

"This whole thing has helped put Durham on the map, people have heard about us now and what goes on here and the visitors promised by being City of Culture will still come here," he said.

One of those who had hoped to benefit from the City of Culture tag was graffiti artist Lewis Hobson, responsible for eye-catching murals across the region including a recent tribute to the RNLI in Hartlepool.

The artist, from Sherburn on the edge of Durham city, had envisaged a countywide mural trail celebrating the people and their stories, to boost people's pride in their homes.

Street artist Lewis Hobson vowed to carry on his work despite the loss

The loss was disappointing, he said, but it will not stop his work or that of the other artists and collectives.

"That's what the people of here are famous for, we just get on with things," he said.

Matthew Hill was also disappointed, not least because of the lost opportunity to really push County Durham's "fantastic" brass bands to a wider audience.

The 15-year-old is a member of Durham Youth Council and sits on the UK Youth Parliament, but more importantly than that he is an avid tenor horn player for both Stanhope and Lanchester bands, as well as a passionate proponent for his home county.

Matthew Hill said County Durham has much to offer culturally

"The first thing to say is good on Bradford," he said, adding: "It was not the result we wanted but we can still get so much from it."

He said County Durham's community spirit makes it "unique", with every hamlet, village, town and city having its own sense of worth and support for its people.

He thought a successful bid would have demonstrated that to the rest of the country who, he said, too often saw County Durham as an "irrelevance" between Newcastle and York.

Expect another bid in four years time, he said.

John Hewitt, chief executive of Durham County Council who coordinated the bid and the announcement party, was sure the county will still benefit in the meantime.

"I am obviously disappointed," Mr Hewitt, who said he is proud of his Chilton roots, told the BBC.

"We really wanted to bring that title home. So much work went into this but it does not stop here."

He said it was too soon to say what the £125,000 promised to the runners up would be spent on but it would certainly go to some of the art groups and projects involved in the bid.

All those the BBC spoke to shared the disappointment, coupled with positivity.

It may have been a loss, they said, but it still felt like a win.