Hull has been named UK City Of Culture 2017. The announcement was made at 7.45am by Culture Minister Maria Miller. It brought an ecstatic reaction from bid supporters who had packed into Hull Truck Theatre.
After a gruelling year of campaigning and lobbying, the theatre erupted into cheers and delighted cries of "yes!". People hugged one another and tears flowed freely as the reality sunk in that Hull had finally won.
The build-up to the announcement was an incredibly tense affair as supporters nervously waited to hear if Hull had managed to overcome rival contenders Leicester, Dundee and Swansea Bay. The victory means the city will stage a £12m programme of arts and cultural events during 2017, including 25 major festivals and spectacular opening and closing ceremonies. The programme will include more than 1,500 individual events and 12 artists' residencies.
Mrs Miller will now travel to Hull this afternoon to offer her congratulations to the city and hear about plans to transform it into the country's cultural hub in four years' time. Among the places she is due to visit are Hull Truck and the Fruit, at Hull Marina.
She said: "It was really great to be able to announce that Hull is the winner of the City of Culture 2017. This is brilliant news for Hull and everyone involved in the bid.
"This year's UK City of Culture, Derry-Londonderry, demonstrates the huge benefits that the title brings. These include encouraging economic growth, inspiring social change and bringing communities together. It can produce a wonderful mix of inward investment, and civic pride and I hope Hull's plans will make the most of all that being UK City of Culture can bring.
Mrs Miller praised Hull's bid team. She said: "They have worked incredibly hard on this bid and they will now use the next three years to take that bid forward and get a broader range of organisations involved to bring this bid even more to life. I will take this opportunity to visit the very many cultural institutions that are in Hull and also talk to the supporting crowds."
Bid adviser Andrew Dixon said: "It's huge. Hull has won something really important. They've trusted in the people, trusted in the city. They've given us a chance to show Hull is a fantastic city. You will see fantastic events, international commissions, some of the world's best artists in the city. You'll see Hull on the international map."
Mark Babych, artistic director at Hull Truck Theatre, said: "This bid doesn't just belong to a group of people who went to Derry, the video says it all, it belongs to everyone in the city. This just shows what happens when a whole city gets behind something."
Hull City Council leader Steve Brady said: "It's the start of new attitudes in Hull, from government and from the national perspective. It means Hull has a real chance of providing good jobs and by the time we have finished in 2017 we will be a completely different city."
Graham Chesters, a member of the bid team and the Freedom Festival Board, said: "It's fantastic but it's all work from now, one of the lessons from Derry is that you start now."
Playwright and Hull College lecturer Dave Windass was "absolutely elated". He said: "It's what the city deserves, we've been waiting for it for so long, it's amazing to be part of it and I can't wait for 2017. Let's have it!"
Karen Okra, a member of the bid team which presented in Derry/Londonderry, said: "I feel sick after being nervous for so long. I just can't believe it, it's a relief. I've never, ever doubted Hull, it's people out there. We want the recognition and we've got it and we need it, I can't believe it."
Screenwriter Phil Redmond, known for Brookside and Grange Hill, was one of the City of Culture judges. He said it was time for Hull to tell the world about what it had to offer.
Mr Redmond said: "Hull's bid had the feel of Liverpool and Derry/Londonderry bids; it didn't shy away from things. They used phrases like they wanted the city to come out and shine, for people to discover the hidden gems it has to offer and reminding us of things like John Godber and Hull Truck Theatre.
"There is lots and lots of things that the city has discovered and wanted to tell the world about."
Hull FC owner Adam Pearson spoke of his pride in the city and said he hoped the club would play a key role in 2017 by helping place a focus on the area's rich sporting heritage.
Mr Pearson said: "This is a superb reflection on the city, the people of Hull and the various influential organisations, businesses, groups and activities that make up our rich cultural framework. Sport is just one part of that in a city that deserves this level of recognition and will benefit hugely from the exposure that we will receive in the build up to 2017 and the year itself.
"Hull is a city that is often knocked and regularly faces its critics, but once you have visited the city you soon see how vibrant, lively, creative and successful it is. I am immensely proud to be associated with the city and would like to congratulate all those who have played their part in securing the City of Culture status, not just recently through the bid, but over the last decade as the city has grown and developed."
The Black and Whites are already planning their own programme of events to celebrate their 150th anniversary in 2015. Mr Pearson said: "The next four years are going to be tremendously exciting for us all. We have major celebrations planned for throughout 2015 for our 150th anniversary and to follow this with the City of Culture celebrations just two years later means we have plenty to look forward to and marquee events to showcase all that is good about the city of Hull."
Andrew Penny, conductor of the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra since 1982, said: "Hull has been a city of culture for me for years and will now be recognised all over the world for it. Music is a language with no international boundaries and the city I was born in has a chance to show that now.
"The Hull Phil is 130 years old and has been a major contributor to the cultural scene over that time. We were proud to have contributed to the bid with an enterprising and imaginative series of concerts for 2017 and can now start putting our plans in place alongside other promoters. Congratulations to the Bid Team and the Council for their vision in achieving this - it is up to us now."
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