With the start of the New Year, Hull is celebrating its year-long status as the UK’s Capital of Culture, and is hoping the recognition and events will end its sometime reputation as a “glum port falling apart at the seams.”
The UK title comes from a program that started after Liverpool’s 2008 success as Europe’s Capital of Culture. The first UK City of Culture was Derry, in 2013, and the bidding is on for the next one in 2021.
Hull’s status as a thriving northern port eroded over the post-war years, with downtown decay and all the rest, but it is beginning to emerge from the shadow. One factor gaining positive attention has been its Freedom Festival, started in 2007, theatre, music, poetry and more, like the Edinburgh Festival, but free. The festival takes its name from British abolitionist William Wilberforce, a Hull native who led the fight against the slave trade.
For much more detail, and a background to the city see The Guardian (UK)
