Leith has officially entered the race to be named the UK’s inaugural Town of Culture, and its organisers are turning to the neighbourhood to help draft the the blueprint for a final push.
On Sunday 25 October, a free drop-in public event titled The Leith Imaginarium will open at the Wee Museum of Memory in Ocean Terminal from 12 noon to 4pm. The gathering is intended to collect grassroots proposals, personal histories, and civic priorities before the town’s formal submission heads to Whitehall next month.
Run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the national competition will crown the first UK Town of Culture for 2028. Out of nearly 400 initial applications submitted across Britain, Leith secured a spot on the final shortlist of 15.
The timing, Leith-speaking, is no accident.
In 2028, Leith marks the 900th anniversary of its first written record. Organisers intend to treat that milestone not as an exercise in backwards-looking nostalgia, but as an opportunity to secure meaningful cultural investment for the port.
Hands-On Consultation at the Waterfront
Rather than relying on sterile town-hall consultations, Sunday’s session at Ocean Terminal leans into interactive activities. Attendees can occupy an informal mayoral seat for a moment, join sofa conversations about Leith’s trajectory, or mark neglected corners and hidden gems on an expansive illustrated map.
Age is no barrier: organisers have pitched the afternoon to anyone from three months to 103 years old.
Every contribution will feed into the final document, overseen by the newly formed Leith Culture Partnership under the chairmanship of Liam Sinclair, Executive Director of the National Theatre of Scotland. More than 80 civic bodies, cultural institutions, and local figures have already backed the project—a coalition spanning Hibernian FC and Leith Theatre to The Proclaimers and writer Irvine Welsh (You can count theQR.co.uk in too!).
Defining Culture from the Ground Up
For bid co-ordinators Susie Gray and Jenny Mungall, the exercise will help avoid top-down civic prescriptions.
‘This isn’t about bringing “culture” to Leith. It’s about celebrating what’s already here, backing the creativity and communities that make this place special, and giving Leithers a real say in what comes next,’ said Gray and Mungall.
‘Whatever the result, 2028 will be a special year as Leith celebrates 900 years and looks forward to the future. The ideas and relationships coming out of the process of this competition belong to this place, and we want to keep building on them to preserve what makes Leith so distinctive and celebrate living in such a brilliant place.’
How to Take Part
The Ocean Terminal workshop is not the sole avenue for residents keen to register their views.
‘This isn’t about bringing “culture” to Leith. It’s about celebrating what’s already here, backing the creativity and communities that make this place special, and giving Leithers a real say in what comes next,’ said Gray and Mungall.
Advance drop-in sessions are scheduled at Printworks Cafe on Constitution Street on Friday 16 October from 9am to 11am, and at Leith Library on Monday 19 October from 6.30pm to 8pm. Further neighbourhood locations will be announced in due course.
For those unable to attend in person, an online consultation survey is circulating via postcard and poster campaigns across the area, alongside updates on Instagram via @Leith2028.
However, don’t wait around to have you say, the clock is ticking! The Leith Culture Partnership will submit its finalised package to the DCMS on 30 November, with the winning town expected to be declared by 31 March 2027.
Featured Image: Show your support poster – Leith for Town of Culture 2028
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