Suffolk Chamber backs Ipswich City of Culture bid – urges all Suffolk businesses to show support

As you may be aware, Ipswich is one of just nine places to have secured a place on the Government’s longlist to become the UK’s 2029 City of Culture.

From the outset, Suffolk Chamber has been an enthusiastic supporter of the bid, which we believe will be both a justified recognition of the growing success of our county town and a catalyst to further accelerate its sustainable prosperity by investment in its amazing culture sector.

The positive economic impacts of previous City of Culture winners are identified in this 2025 report from Warwick Business School. The winner of the 2029 awards receives £10m to programme an unforgettable year of cultural experiences for everyone. 

The bid team is now working incredibly hard to evidence the details and support for Ipswich – and is working to an incredibly tight deadline of 10^th August.

We urge as many businesses as possible to back the bid by: 

• Offering words of support at: www.ipswich2029.com  
• Using the Ipswich City of Culture logo assets at: www.ipswich2029.com     in your company’s email signatures, websites and social media
• Promoting the bid on your social media platforms using the hashtag: #BacktheBid  
• Sharing your ideas, starting conversations, offering space, connecting  with your own communities and customers, or simply spreading the word however you can.

John Dugmore, Suffolk Chamber’s Chief Executive, said: “Ipswich deserves to become the UK’s next City of Culture. Gaining such accreditation will be a major boost for the whole of Suffolk and I have no doubt will benefit our businesses and communities. I urge every company in the county to back the bid”.